Patricia Langager and Leroy Langager, Husband and Wife v. Lake Havasu Community Hospital

Plaintiffs appeal from a summary judgment for the defendants. The district court granted defendants’ motion on the grounds that because plaintiffs’ claims were barred by the statute of limitations, there remains no genuine issue of material fact to be litigated.

FACTS

Mrs. Langager was admitted as a patient to the defendant hospital on October 22, 1976 for purposes of childbirth. She was under the care and treatment of a Dr. Nelson. While in the hospital, she suffered a stroke which plaintiffs allege was proximately caused by the defendants’ negligence.

On July 12,1978, plaintiffs filed an action in Arizona state court against the treating physician, Dr. Nelson, and the consulting physician, Dr. Dreeve. That case has been tried and a state court jury returned a verdict in favor of Dr. Nelson.

On October 23,1978, during the discovery procedures being pursued in the state court action, the plaintiffs allege that they learned for the first time that the medical records of Mrs. Langager had been altered by employees of the defendant hospital. This alteration forms the basis of their district court action filed on July 1, 1981.

Although neither the order nor the judgment in the…