COURT OF APPEALS DECISION DATED AND RELEASED August 24, 1995 |
NOTICE |
A party may file with the
Supreme Court a petition to review an adverse decision by the Court of
Appeals. See § 808.10 and Rule 809.62(1), Stats. |
This opinion is subject to
further editing. If published, the
official version will appear in the bound volume of the Official Reports. |
No. 93-1044
STATE
OF WISCONSIN IN COURT OF
APPEALS
DISTRICT IV
MONICA CRISTINA PARIGI
DANIEL,
an Incompetent, by
Robert Daniel,
her Guardian, and
ROBERT DANIEL,
Plaintiffs-Appellants-Cross Respondents,
v.
WISCONSIN PATIENTS
COMPENSATION FUND,
MERITER HOSPITAL,
INC.,
Defendants-Respondents-Cross Appellants,
DR. CHARLES J.
HODULIK,
Defendant.
APPEAL from a judgment
of the circuit court for Dane County:
ROBERT DeCHAMBEAU,
Judge. Affirmed.
Before Eich, C.J.,
Gartzke, P.J., and Dykman, J.
PER
CURIAM. Monica Cristina Parigi Daniel and Robert
Daniel, who is Monica's guardian, appeal from a judgment dismissing their
medical malpractice complaint after a jury trial. We affirm.
Monica suffered brain
injuries from an attempted suicide while an inpatient at Meriter Hospital. Monica and Robert are married. Their complaint went to trial against
Meriter and Dr. Charles Hodulik, her treating psychiatrist. The jury found that Hodulik was not
negligent but Meriter was. However, the
jury also found that Meriter's negligence was not causal.
The Daniels argue that
the jury instructions did not properly instruct the jury regarding the respective
duties of the plaintiffs and defendants.
Meriter argues that the Daniels waived the argument by failing to object
at the instruction conference. See
§ 805.13(3), Stats. The Daniels respond that they raised the
issues in their post-trial motion. This
is irrelevant, however, since § 805.13(3) requires that they object before
the instructions are given. The court
of appeals lacks the power to review unobjected-to instructions. State v. Schumacher, 144
Wis.2d 388, 409, 424 N.W.2d 672, 680 (1988).
The Daniels argue that
the jury erroneously found that Meriter's negligence was not causal. Specifically, they argue that if the jury
found Meriter negligent by failing to monitor Monica, the jury's finding of no
causation was contrary to the evidence.
The Daniels also concede, however, that the jury may have found that
Meriter was negligent in some other way.
If so, they argue, such a finding was caused by the alleged errors in
the instructions and evidentiary rulings.
As we understand the Daniels' arguments, they concede that the jury
might properly have found Meriter's negligence not causal using the
instructions it was given. We have held
that those instructions cannot be challenged in this appeal. We turn to the evidentiary issue.
The Daniels argue that
the trial court erred by not allowing them to introduce Meriter's internal
policies relating to care of patients with self-destructive tendencies. As we read the argument, however, the
Daniels sought to use this evidence on the issue of negligence. The jury found in the Daniels' favor on
negligence. Any evidentiary error was
harmless.
The Daniels argue that
the burden of proof regarding causation should have been placed on the
defendants, that is, that the defendants should have to prove that their
negligence did not cause Monica's injuries. This issue, too, was waived because there was no such objection
to the instructions as given by the court.
The Daniels argue that
we should order a new trial under § 752.35, Stats.,
because the real controversy was not fully tried. We decline to do so. The
argument is first made in their reply brief.
Appellants may not raise new issues in their reply brief. In re Estate of Bilsie, 100
Wis.2d 342, 346 n.2, 302 N.W.2d 508, 512 (1981).
The issues raised in Meriter's
cross-appeal are mooted by our rejection of appellants' arguments.
By the Court.—Judgment
affirmed.
This opinion will not be
published. See Rule 809.23(1)(b)5, Stats.