Asselin v. Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Inc.

894 F. Supp. 1479, 6 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 1596, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11021
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedJuly 25, 1995
DocketCiv. A. 94-2505-KHV
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 894 F. Supp. 1479 (Asselin v. Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Asselin v. Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Inc., 894 F. Supp. 1479, 6 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 1596, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11021 (D. Kan. 1995).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

VRATIL, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs Motion to File Second Amended Complaint (Doe. #30) filed April 11, 1995; Plaintiffs Motion to File Supplemental *1481 Pleading (Doc. # 47) filed May 9, 1995; the Motion of Plaintiff, Leonard J. Asselin, Jr. Requesting Leave of the Court To File A Third Amended Complaint Pursuant to FedRCivP 15, and the Court’s Permission to Extend the Time for Service Pursuant to FedRCivP Mm) (Doc. #51) filed June 22, 1995; and the Motion of Plaintiff, Leonard J. Asselin, Jr. Requesting Leave of the Court For Possible Intervention by the United States Department of Justice Pursuant to the Americans With Disabilities Act 28 CFR 86.501-86.508 (Doc. # 54) filed June 22,1995.

This matter also comes before the Court with respect to various motions to dismiss: Defendant Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Inc.’s Motion To Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction (Doe. # 15) filed February 28, 1995; Defendant Hess’ Motion to Dismiss First Amended Complaint and Motion to Quash (Doc. # 18) filed March 10, 1995 and plaintiffs Motion to Reconsider Defendant Hess’ Position Relative to Facts of Service (Doc. # 53) filed June 22, 1995; Defendant Gregory Rick, Jr., M.D.’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. #33) filed April 17, 1995; and Defendant Seventh-Day Adventists Church’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction (Doe. # 35) filed April 17, 1995.

Plaintiffs Complaint and Amendments Thereto

Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows one amendment of the pleadings, before a responsive pleading is served or within 20 days after service. Subsequent amendments are allowed by leave of court or by written consent of an adverse party. Fed. R.Civ.Pro. 15(a). Subsequent amendments should be “freely given when justice so requires.” Id.

On December 12, 1994, plaintiff filed his Complaint of Negligence in this case. On February 10, 1995, with leave of court, he filed an amended complaint which he characterized as his “First Amended Complaint of Medical Negligence” (Doc. # 12). On April 11, 1995, in response to various motions to dismiss, plaintiff sought leave to file a second amended complaint which further clarified his claims. By way of still further clarification, plaintiff lodged a motion for leave to file a supplemental pleading and a motion for leave to file a third amended complaint.

Defendants argue that the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction because complete diversity does not exist and plaintiff alleges no viable basis for federal jurisdiction. In attacking the jurisdictional basis for plaintiffs complaint, however, they confront a moving target. While plaintiff is no stranger to the field of litigation, he does appear pro se and the Court has entertained consecutive motions and purported “clarifications” of plaintiffs original complaint. Moreover, the Court has made extraordinary efforts to ascertain the gist of plaintiffs claim. To that end the Court has reviewed all of plaintiffs various pleadings and motions and for purposes of this order, accepts their factual allegations as true. From that vantage point, as best the Court can determine, the factual basis of plaintiffs claim is that stated below. For purposes of evaluating defendants’ motions to dismiss, the Court grants all pending motions for leave to amend.

Plaintiffs “Second Amended Complaint”

The Court summarizes the allegations of plaintiffs various complaints and proposed amendments, and accepts them as true for purposes of the pending motions to dismiss:

Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Inc. [SMMC] is owned and governed by the Seventh-Day Adventist church: Midwest Adventist Health Services, Inc. [Midwest], owns the hospital facility and the Mid-America Union Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists [Mid-America Conference], an unincorporated association, is its governing body. The Mid-America Conference is part of the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists in Silver Spring, Maryland. The General Conference, through Midwest and the Mid-America Conference, controls, sponsors, manages, operates and administers SMMC. Steven J. Hess, M.D., was plaintiffs attending neurosurgeon at SMMC. Gregory Rick, M.D., a gastroenterologist, consulted with Dr. Hess concerning plaintiffs treatment. Both doctors acted as agents of SMMC and the Seventh-Day Adventists.

Defendants are places of public accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., and other *1482 federal statutes, and they receive federal funds through various programs, including Hill-Burton, Medicare, Medicaid and C.H.A.M.P.U.S.

On December 10, 1992, plaintiff (who was then 56 years of age) fell from a one-story roof and was transported by ambulance to SMMC. Plaintiff was in a great deal of pain and he was hospitalized from December 10, 1992 until January 1, 1993, for an acute compression fracture of his back.

Plaintiff has suffered from epilepsy, a disabling seizure disorder, since an accident in his teen-age years. Plaintiff controls the seizures through medication, i.e. 200 mg. of Dilantin in the morning plus 100 mg. of Dilantin and 60 mg. of phenobarbital at bedtime. In the emergency room on December 10,1992, plaintiff disclosed his medical condition, including his epilepsy, along with his current medications and their dosages. At that time, plaintiff also executed a consent to hospital and medical treatment. The consent form embodied a representation that “my doctor will explain to me ... his recommended treatment and any associated risks involved.” Defendants did not advise plaintiff of any treatment risk with respect to the medications which they administered, nor did they supply plaintiff written information concerning his rights as a patient. Also, defendants did not test plaintiffs blood levels of Dilantin and phenobarbital in the emergency room. As a result, they had no “benchmark” blood level for administering further medication.

Initially, Dr. Hess wanted to perform a fusion operation on plaintiffs back. Plaintiff demanded a second opinion, however, and in the end the agreed treatment was three weeks of bed rest. Defendants cautioned plaintiff that a chip of his backbone was resting against his spinal column, and that his movements should be restricted to “log rolling” from side to side.

While plaintiff was in the hospital, defendants forced him to take various medications which were inappropriate for epileptics. One such drug was Metoclopramide, also known as Reglan, an antipsychotic drug which severely and permanently affects an individual’s ability to think and communicate. At approximately 9:30 a.m.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
894 F. Supp. 1479, 6 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 1596, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11021, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/asselin-v-shawnee-mission-medical-center-inc-ksd-1995.