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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 1984)
STEAK HOUSE is featuring two Aggie favorites each Thursday night from 4 p.m.-lO p.m. $ 2.99 Chicken Fried Steak Cream Gravy Your Choice of Potato Texas Toast ' Reg. $ 3.59 $ 6.99 17 oz. Choice Broiled Sirloin • Sauteed Mushrooms • Your Choice of Potato • Texas Toasl Reg. *7.99 SSTERN SXZZLXNOpen Sunday-Thursday STEAK HOUSE FridayTndSa^day 11 a.m.-ll p.m. 1701 South Texas Ave. Next to Rodeway Inn-Bryan 779-2822 MD suit State court allows couple to seek damages United Press International AUSTIN — A Dallas couple whose son was born with muscular dvstrophy may proceed with a "wrongful birth" suit, the Texas Su preme Court ruled Wednesday in an opinion that could reshape medical malpractice complaints. The order struck down as uncon stitutional — in some cases — a two- year statute of limitations on the fil ing of medical malpractice suits. The tribunal's split decision re versed a ruling it made l l months ago in a suit in which the parents of a MD victim were seeking damages f rom a doctor and a Dallas hospital. In a Nov. lb, 1983 ruling, the high court said the statute of limita tions barred the suit against Dr. Ed ward M. Krusen and the Baylor Uni- versitv Medical Center. It also ruled the parents, Tom and Ciloria Nelson, could not sustain a “wrongful life” suit. But in its revised opinion Wednes day, the Supreme Court said the Nelsons could sue for “wrongful birth” and seek damages for them selves for the care of their 8-year-old son, Mark. In a dissenting opinion. Justice Raul A. Gonzalez complained the court’s ruling was tantamount to giv-. ing parents “a legal entitlement to a perfect child." The court reinstated the suit by declaring unconstitutional — on a limited basis — a state law that im posed an absolute two-year statute of limitations, regardless of when the injurv was discovered. The justices agreed with the Nel sons' contention that the nature of their son's af fliction made it impossi ble to file suit within two years. The child’s ailment was not diagnosed until he was 3. “The limitation period, applied as written, would require the Nelsons to do the impossible — to sue before they had any reason to know thev should sue,” wrote Justice Franklin Spears. In refusing to allow the Nelsons to seek damages for their son under a “wrongful life” action, the court said there is no precedent for awarding damages to a child for having been born at all and to pay expenses re lated to a birth defect. But the court said the parents were entitled to seek damages under a “wrongf ul birth" suit. In a dissenting opinion. Justice William W. Kilgarlin scored the court’s majority for ref using to fully address the delicate issue of whether a child born with a disabling birth defect can collect damages. "The court’s inaction today merelv postpones the necessity of acting in a medical area that will in- creasinglv dominate our society,” he said. “Moreover, the court entirely overlooks the real victim of the mal practice, Mark Nelson." Two other justices, James P. Wal lace and Gonzalez, dissented on grounds that the parents should not he entitled to collect damages for the care of their disabled child. According to the Nelsons’ original complaint, Krusen was consulted in I97b when Mrs. Nelson first learned she was pregnant. Already the parents of an MD vic tim. the Nelsons asked Krusen to de termine whether Mrs. Nelson was a genetic carrier of the disease so they could decide whether she should ter minate the pregnancy. According to the testimony, Kru sen determined Mrs. Nelson had a normal pregnancy and had no un usual risk of bearing a second child with MD. 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SCHEDULE OF FREE LESSONS LOCATION: COLLEGE STATION COMMUNITY CENTER 13 00 JERSEY STREET THURSDAY 10/18 1:00PM, 3:00PM AND 5:00PM IW 9 10:0 °AM, 12:00PM AND 2:00PM SATURDAY 10/20 11:00AM AND 1:00PM EWELYN WOOD READING DYNAMICS Conference to evaluate Alzheimer's United Press Inlcnuiional 1.1 BB( )GK — Theories alioii cause of Alzheimer’s disease i among topics scheduled lor Mission ihu ing a (hree-davihd conference starting today, l l ech Health Sciences Cettlen ci.ils saiil. "With tl te increasing niiiib people living to age HOandta Alzheimer’s disease repress! ver\ important problem to At can societv. ’ said Dr. James SI timet of the Tniversiiy of Minus Medical School. He said the risk of gettingtie ease increased with age thraiid hut then apparently decreased people reached fHf. Its victims trouble rememberingthingsau! i ome disoriented. Mortimer also was expentd dis« uss the possibility that ppl perieiu ing a severe headinjuni a highei risk ol getting thedi* saiil l ech Dr. J. 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