Trantafello

Plaintiff Arthur Trantafello brought this action for medical malpractice against defendants Kenneth Richland (who performed the surgery which is the subject of the suit), Seymour Gassner (who was present at the operation as an assistant surgeon), and the Medical Center of Tarzana (where the surgery was performed). The surgery was performed December 23, 1976; plaintiff filed his complaint September 14, 1981. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants on the ground the action was barred by the three-year statute of limitations in Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5. Summary judgment is proper when the moving papers show the action is barred by the statute of limitations and the plaintiff is unable to raise any triable issue of fact for tolling the statute. (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (c); Scherer v. Mark (1976) 64 Cal.App.3d 834, 843 [ 135 Cal.Rptr. 90 ].)

Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5 (hereinafter section 340.5) provides in pertinent part: “In an action for injury or death against a health care provider based upon such person’s alleged professional negligence, the time for the commencement of action shall be three years after the date of…