Medical malpractice; Statute of limitations; Traditional medical malpractice claim; Taylor v. Kent Radiology, PC; Burden of proof; MCL 600.2912a(2); Accrual; MCL 600.5838a(1); Doctrine of informed consent; Wlosinski v. Cohn

Holding that plaintiff’s medical malpractice claim accrued before the surgery was performed when he was allegedly not informed of the risks of developing a retrograde ejaculation condition and becoming sterile, the court affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary disposition for defendants on the basis the claim was time-barred. Plaintiff filed suit on 10/9/15 arising from a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) surgery performed by the defendant-doctor on 4/1/13. After the surgery he experienced problems with ejaculation and, on 5/9/13, the doctor “advised him to wait eight months for improvement. But after eight months, plaintiff saw no improvement.” In 1/14, he “discussed the problem with his primary care physician who advised plaintiff that ejaculation problems are a known and common risk of TURP surgery. Plaintiff alleged in his complaint” that defendant never told him this. As the trial court noted, “plaintiff did not allege that he ‘suffered an injury that more probably than not was proximately caused’ by” the doctor’s “failure to diagnose his retrograde ejaculation condition and sterility” on 5/9/13. Considering his complaint as a whole, it was “clear that the basis for his medical malpractice claim” was the doctor’s alleged failure to inform him “before the surgery that he could develop a retrograde ejaculation condition and become sterile after the TURP surgery.” Thus, his claim accrued on 4/1/13.