Summerfield v. Superior Court, Maricopa Cty.

FELDMAN, Justice.

This case presents the question of whether a wrongful death action can be maintained by the Summerfields (plaintiffs), the parents of a viable fetus that was stillborn as a result of alleged medical malpractice by the respondent real parties in interest (defendants). The trial court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the wrongful death count on the authority of Kilmer v. Hicks, 22 Ariz.App. 552, 529 P.2d 706 (1974), a case which held: 1) that no common law right existed for recovery, and 2) that a viable fetus was not a “person” as that word is used in A.R.S. § 12-611,…