Buttersworth v. Swint
Buttersworth v. Swint
Opinion of the Court
Mrs. Ola Resseau Buttersworth filed a petition against Dr. R. C. Swint, which she denominates as being “in equity.” She alleges that the defendant is superintendent of the Georgia State Sanitarium at Milledgeville, and was such superintendent from May, 1926, until September, 1928; that during this time the petitioner was employed as an attendant at said institution, and while in the discharge of her duties as such attendant suffered an injury which produced an, umbilical rupture; that the defendant, though charged with the duty of rendering proper medical care to petitioner and other employees at the sanitarium, refused to allow her to be operated on for the injury, stating that if she would -wear an abdominal support an operation would not be necessary; that thereafter she followed this advice and wore such support; that as a result of the refusal of the defendant to allow petitioner to be operated on, her condition, due to said rupture, became worse, and in September, 1928, she'was compelled, on account of the condition of her health, to resign her position; that in May, 1934, her condition was such that other physicians whom she consulted advised that an immediate operation was necessary for said rupture, and petitioner was then operated on, when for the first time she ascertained the true extent of the injury done her by the conduct of the defendant; and that shortly before said operation petitioner discovered that the defendant had neglected and mistreated her on account of ill feeling on the part of defendant toward petitioner’s husband. Paragraph 51 of the petition is as follows: “Petitioner has no adequate remedy at law. The peculiar circumstances of the case make it
It is alleged that the malpractice and neglect occurred more than two years before the institution of the suit, but it is averred that the delay in filing the suit was due to the fraudulent conduct of the defendant, and that about that date the petitioner for the first time ascertained the extent of the injury done her, and that it was attributable to his conduct; that it was not until then, in May, 1934, that petitioner discovered that the defendant had neglected and mistreated her on account of ill feeling on the part of the defendant towards petitioner’s husband. Though the action is denominated as one in equity, the provisions of § 3-807 of the Code of 1933 do not require an application of any equitable principles. If the plaintiff has been debarred or deterred by fraud of the defendant from bringing his action, the statute of limitation does not begin to run until the discovery of the fraud, and the intervention of equity is not necessary to establish the right provided by the Code section. The sole prayer of the petition is for a money judgment for specified items of damages. So in these circumstances the Court of Appeals has jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court is without jurisdiction.
Transferred to the Court of Appeals.
Reference
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- BUTTERSWORTH v. SWINT
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