Howard v. City of Columbus

466 S.E.2d 51, 219 Ga. App. 569, 96 Fulton County D. Rep. 114, 1995 Ga. App. LEXIS 1105
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedDecember 5, 1995
DocketA95A0909
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 466 S.E.2d 51 (Howard v. City of Columbus) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Howard v. City of Columbus, 466 S.E.2d 51, 219 Ga. App. 569, 96 Fulton County D. Rep. 114, 1995 Ga. App. LEXIS 1105 (Ga. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinions

McMurray, Presiding Judge.

James Howard, Jr. died during incarceration at the Muscogee County jail, perishing after prolonged suffering resulting from untreated diabetes mellitus. An autopsy revealed that Howard’s blood-glucose level was 12 times the amount normally tolerated by humans and that the cause of death was “ketoacidosis.”1 Although Howard (as well as other inmates) allegedly advised jailers of his debilitating condition for several days, these pleas went unnoticed until Howard lapsed into a coma. Paramedics were then summoned to the jail and quickly determined that Howard was suffering because of untreated diabetes. But it was too late to reverse the cycle of advanced “ketoacidosis.” Howard died upon arrival at Columbus Medical Center. Upon the coroner’s inquest, a jury allegedly “determined that JAMES HOWARD, JR. died a preventable death resulting from the neglect of the Muscogee County Jail and its employees and of [a] dia[570]*570betic condition.”

Conswella Howard, by and through her natural and legal guardian, Stephanie Cobbin, and Stephanie Cobbin, as temporary administratrix of the estate of James Howard, Jr. (plaintiffs), filed a multicount complaint asserting both state and federal law claims against the City of Columbus, Muscogee County, Georgia, J. E. “Gene” Hodge, in his individual and official capacity as Sheriff of Muscogee County, Georgia (“the City,” “the County” and “the Sheriff”), Jerry Stephens Chase, in his individual and official capacities as a physician and medical director at the Muscogee County jail, Mildred Chapman, in her individual and official capacities as a licensed practical nurse and head nurse at the Muscogee County jail, and Lawrence Thompson and Ava McLeod, in their individual and official capacities as licensed practical nurses and as nurses at the Muscogee County jail (defendants). Specifically, plaintiffs allege in Count 1 that defendants failed to provide Howard with medical treatment and care as required by OCGA § 42-5-2 and in Count 2 that defendants’ actions and omissions caused Howard to suffer “continuous and severe physical, mental and emotional injuries prior to his death. . . .’’In Count 3, plaintiffs assert claims for wrongful death pursuant to OCGA § 51-4-1 (1) and, in Count 4, they advance state law claims for abuse of authority and cruel and unusual punishment. The basis of plaintiffs’ claim in Count 5 is that “[t]he actions of each defendant constituted medical care which was negligent and grossly negligent, if not callous and willfully inhumane, in deliberate disregard for the right of JAMES HOWARD, JR. to medical care, and/or constitutes grossly inadequate medical staff, facilities or procedures, resulting in injury to JAMES HOWARD, JR., and is actionable and recoverable under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-27.” Plaintiffs allege in Count 6 that “[t]he policies and customs and/or lack of policies to adequately and competently provide medical care to inmates constitutes a deliberate indifference to the serious needs of inmates and is a violation of [the] 8th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States[; that the] actions of the Defendants in not providing proper medical care to JAMES HOWARD, JR. was arbitrary and purposeless in relation to the effective management of the correction facilities involved [; that as] a direct and proximate result of the Defendants actions or omissions, JAMES HOWARD, JR., suffered violations of his constitutional rights as protected by the 8th Amendment to the United States Constitution [and that the] actions and inactions of each Defendant constituted such deliberate indifference to JAMES HOWARD, JR., that he was deprived of his rights to medical treatment and to his life, as protected by the Eight[h] Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Defendants denied the material allegations of the complaint and [571]*571filed motions to dismiss, asserting that the expert’s affidavit filed in support of plaintiffs’ medical malpractice claims does not comply with the pleading requirements of OCGA § 9-11-9.1 (a). The affidavit of Joseph G. Bussey, Jr. was filed in support of Count 5 of the complaint and provides, in pertinent part, as follows: “I am, at the present time, a qualified medical doctor, and physician duly licensed by the State of Georgia .... Having reviewed an abstract of the treatment records of patient James Howard, Jr., I . . . have acquired a limited knowledge of the matters herein referred to and I am also qualified to render a professional opinion as to the standard of care and skill which under similar conditions and like circumstances would ordinarily have been employed by the medical profession generally. . . . Having personally examined [an] abstract of Mr. Howard’s medical records and having relied upon my own experience, familiarity and training in similar matters, it is my opinion to a reasonable degree of certainty that:

“(a) The conduct of the City of Columbus, County of Muscogee, Georgia, Jail Health Clinic did not comply with the standard of skill and care which under similar conditions and like circumstances would have been employed by the medical profession generally when and to the extent it failed to provide Mr. James Howard, Jr. with timely investigation and proper health care attention necessary for the treatment of his diabetic condition. Particularly, the jail clinic’s neglect and failure to recognize and treat this man’s diabetic condition was a breach of that standard.

“(b) The conduct of the City of Columbus, County of Muscogee, Georgia, Jail Health Clinic did not comply with the standard of skill and care which under similar conditions and like circumstances would have been employed by the medical profession generally when, in regard to the management of its personnel and staff, it failed to exercise those procedures and protocols critical to the providing of necessary and proper health care treatment to James Howard, Jr. Particularly, to the extent that the jail clinic departmental personnel and staff failed to recognize and properly provide medical treatment for a diabetic condition that resulted in the preventable death of James Howard, Jr. and to the extent that the needed and potentially life-prolonging health treatment was denied to the detriment of the patient James Howard, Jr. whose life hung in the balance of time, was a breach of that standard.”

In three separate orders the trial court found that Dr. Bussey’s affidavit was insufficient to support plaintiffs’ claims for medical malpractice. The trial court went further, however, and dismissed the entire complaint, finding that the claims asserted in all six counts amount to nothing more than causes of action for medical malpractice. This appeal followed. Held'.

[572]*5721. The City, the County and the Sheriff have filed a motion to dismiss this appeal, arguing that the Court of Appeals has no jurisdiction because the notice of appeal incorrectly designates that the order granting their motion to dismiss was entered on November 17, 1994. This assertion is without merit.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Stewart J. Smith v. United States
7 F.4th 963 (Eleventh Circuit, 2021)
Barbara Cantrell v. Au Medical Center, Inc.
Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2020
Roderic R. McDowell v. Pernell Brown
392 F.3d 1283 (Eleventh Circuit, 2004)
McKillop v. Onslow County
532 S.E.2d 594 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2000)
McCombs v. Southern Regional Medical Center, Inc.
504 S.E.2d 747 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1998)
Epps v. Gwinnett County
499 S.E.2d 657 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1998)
Bailey v. Joyner
495 S.E.2d 45 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1997)
Goins v. Tucker
489 S.E.2d 857 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1997)
S K Hand Tool Corp. v. Lowman
479 S.E.2d 103 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1996)
Howard v. City of Columbus
466 S.E.2d 51 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
466 S.E.2d 51, 219 Ga. App. 569, 96 Fulton County D. Rep. 114, 1995 Ga. App. LEXIS 1105, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/howard-v-city-of-columbus-gactapp-1995.