Marlene Carmichael, Personal Representative of the Estate of Monette Morgan, Deceased, Appellant v. Jack J. Beller…

Summary

The court held that a release naming only the original tortfeasors and containing broad boilerplate language did not discharge the treating physician and clinic from a later malpractice claim. If the original tortfeasors and health care providers shared liability for the same injury, the governing contribution statute required the providers to be named or specifically identified for the release to discharge them. If the providers alone caused distinct harm through independent and intervening malpractice, the release likewise did not reach their separate cause of action, and disputed medical evidence required reversal of summary judgment.