Emily Archer, M.D. v. Anita Karen Warren and Bobby Gene Warren

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 15, 2003
Docket07-01-00027-CV
StatusPublished

This text of Emily Archer, M.D. v. Anita Karen Warren and Bobby Gene Warren (Emily Archer, M.D. v. Anita Karen Warren and Bobby Gene Warren) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Emily Archer, M.D. v. Anita Karen Warren and Bobby Gene Warren, (Tex. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

NO. 07-01-00027-CV

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE SEVENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

AT AMARILLO

PANEL E

JULY 15, 2003

______________________________

EMILY ARCHER, M.D., APPELLANT

V.

ANITA KAREN WARREN AND HUSBAND, BOBBY GENE WARREN, APPELLEES

_________________________________

FROM THE 47TH DISTRICT COURT OF POTTER COUNTY;

NO. 83,029-A; HONORABLE MARVIN MARSHALL, SENIOR JUDGE

_______________________________

Before JOHNSON, C.J., and REAVIS, J., and BOYD, S.J.1

OPINION

Appellant Emily Archer, M.D., appeals from a judgment against her in a medical

negligence case. Concluding that the evidence of proximate cause is legally insufficient,

we reverse and render.

1 John T. Boyd, Chief Justice (Ret.), Seventh Court of Appeals, sitting by assignment. BACKGROUND

Dr. Emily Archer, a gynecologist, began treating Anita Warren in 1988. The initial

treatment was for pelvic pain. Dr. Archer performed hysterectomy surgery which was

successful and relieved Anita’s pain.

Anita continued consulting Dr. Archer, as well as other doctors, through the years.

During her annual examination in 1990, Anita related symptoms of mild incontinence,

which Dr. Archer diagnosed as stress urinary incontinence (“SUI”). Anita testified at trial

that her symptoms in 1990 consisted of a feeling of unusual dampness during sexual

intercourse. The 1990 pelvic exam by Dr. Archer revealed a cystocele. The cystocele was

formed by herniation of part of Anita’s bladder through the wall of her vagina and the

resultant protrusion of that part of her bladder into the vagina.

Anita returned to Dr. Archer in 1993. Her complaints included incontinence, which

she described at trial as being about the same as in 1990. Examination by Dr. Archer

revealed that Anita’s cystocele had progressed to a more advanced state, and that she

had developed a rectocele. The rectocele was formed by herniation of part of the wall of

Anita’s rectum through the wall of her vagina and the resulting protrusion of part of her

rectal wall into the vagina.

On January 17, 1995, Anita returned to Dr. Archer for an annual examination. She

had continued complaints of incontinence which, according to her trial testimony, by then

had begun occurring with certain physically stressful activities such as coughing, sneezing,

and lifting heavy objects, as well as with sexual intercourse. Dr. Archer found that Anita’s

2 cystocele had progressed to involve the urethra (the canal for discharging urine from her

bladder) and had compromised the urethra. Dr. Archer classified the cystocele as a

second degree cystourethrocele.2 Anita still had the rectocele, which Archer then classified

as a first degree rectocele.

Dr. Archer recommended surgery which she believed would correct the

cystourethrocele, the rectocele and the SUI. She did not discuss Kegel’s exercises with

Anita. Kegel’s exercises are exercises designed to strengthen muscles in a woman’s

pelvic floor and muscles supporting the urethra.

Anita testified that she understood the surgery was needed to repair her bladder

because the bladder had dropped following her hysterectomy. Anita agreed to the

recommendation for surgery and on January 27, 1995, Dr. Archer performed surgery. The

surgery stopped Anita’s incontinence and corrected the anatomical defects.

Anita developed pain in her right leg postoperatively. Dr. Archer performed a

second surgery to release two sutures which were suspected of impinging on Anita’s

obturator nerve and causing the pain. Anita’s pain persisted after the second surgery,

despite referrals to and treatments by specialists in physical medicine, pain management,

and neurosurgery. At trial, Anita claimed continuing pain and impairment from her right leg

pain, which was diagnosed as pain from nerve damage as a result of the surgery.3

2 The term cystourethrocele was used interchangeably with the term urethrocele at trial. An urethrocele is a prolapse of the urethra into the vagina. 3 The Warrens’ expert, Dr. Philip Rosenfeld, was not critical of Dr. Archer’s choice of surgical procedures. Nor did he, at trial, attribute Anita’s leg pain to negligence by Dr. Archer in performing the surgery.

3 Anita and her husband filed suit alleging that Dr. Archer was negligent in various

ways which proximately caused Anita’s continuing pain and impairment. The case

eventually was tried on the theory that (1) Dr. Archer negligently failed to offer the non-

surgical option of Kegel’s exercises4 to Anita before doing surgery; (2) Anita would have

chosen and performed the non-surgical option had it been offered; (3) the Kegel’s

exercises probably would have corrected her incontinence without surgery; and (4) Anita’s

nerve damage would have been avoided if the surgery had not been done. The jury found,

in response to a broad form liability question, that Dr. Archer’s negligence was a proximate

cause of Anita’s injury in question. Judgment was entered in favor of the Warrens for the

amount of damages found by the jury, together with pre- and post-judgment interest.

Via ten issues, Dr. Archer challenges the (1) legal and factual sufficiency of

evidence to support the findings of negligence and proximate cause; (2) factual sufficiency

of evidence to support the damages findings for lost wages, lost earning capacity and

future medical care; (3) failure of the trial court to give limiting instructions to the jury

concerning evidence admitted for a limited purpose; (4) trial court’s written notations on an

exhibit as a comment on the weight of the evidence; (5) broad form submission of the

negligence issue; and (6) trial court’s refusal to hold a hearing on her motion for new trial

which alleged jury misconduct. We determine that her third issue, which urges legal

insufficiency of the evidence to support a finding that the alleged negligence proximately

4 Testimony also referenced other conservative measures of treatment such as biofeedback, weighted cones and electrical stimulation. The testimony, however, focused on Kegel’s exercises. We will use the term “Kegel’s” or “exercises” to encompass all of the conservative measures referred to.

4 caused Anita’s injuries, is dispositive. We will only address that issue. See TEX . R. APP.

P. 47.1.

MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE

Plaintiffs in medical negligence cases are required to prove by a preponderance

of the evidence that the allegedly negligent act or omission was a proximate cause of the

harm alleged. See Kramer v. Lewisville Mem'l Hosp., 858 S.W.2d 397, 400 (Tex. 1993).

To establish proximate cause, the plaintiff must prove (1) foreseeability, and (2)

cause-in-fact. See Leitch v. Hornsby, 935 S.W.2d 114, 118-19 (Tex. 1996). The cause-in-

fact element of proximate cause requires proof that the alleged negligence was a

substantial factor in bringing about the harm, and without which the harm would not have

occurred. See Park Place Hosp. v. Estate of Milo, 909 S.W.2d 508, 511 (Tex. 1995). With

regard to cause-in-fact, the plaintiff must establish a causal connection between the

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Emily Archer, M.D. v. Anita Karen Warren and Bobby Gene Warren, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/emily-archer-md-v-anita-karen-warren-and-bobby-gen-texapp-2003.