Hutton v. Craighead

530 So. 2d 101, 1988 WL 84451
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 16, 1988
DocketCA-8834
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 530 So. 2d 101 (Hutton v. Craighead) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hutton v. Craighead, 530 So. 2d 101, 1988 WL 84451 (La. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

530 So.2d 101 (1988)

Yvonne HUTTON
v.
Claude C. CRAIGHEAD, M.D., Hartford Insurance Company, et al.

No. CA-8834.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

August 16, 1988.
Rehearing Denied September 14, 1988.
Writ Denied December 2, 1988.

*102 S. Alfred Adams, Carruth, Cooper and Adams, Baton Rouge, for defendants/intervenors/appellants.

Franklin D. Beahm, Thomas, Hayes and Beahm, New Orleans, for defendants/appellants.

Trevor G. Bryan, James A. Gray II, Jefferson, Bryan, Gray & Jupiter, New Orleans, for plaintiff/appellee.

Before BYRNES, CIACCIO and PLOTKIN, JJ.

PLOTKIN, Judge.

This malpractice case involves three issues: (1) Whether the plaintiff's malpractice claim was timely filed, (2) Whether the physician made material misrepresentations which vitiated the patient's informed consent and (3) Whether comparative negligence applies in informed consent malpractice cases.

Facts

Plaintiff, Yvonne Hutton, sued defendants, Dr. Claude Craighead and his insurer Hartford Insurance Co. The jury rendered a verdict for Ms. Hutton; however, the trial court granted a mistrial. This court reversed that decision and ordered the trial court to reinstate the jury verdict awarding $200,000 to the plaintiff. Hutton v. Craighead, No. C-7037 (La.App. 4th Cir.1987).

*103 The instant appeal arises from the jury verdict.

In June of 1980, the plaintiff, a 5'1", 280 pound, forty-one year old woman saw Dr. Harold G. Shelby, an internist/gastroenterologist, for complaints of high blood pressure, chest pains, depression and obesity. Dr. Shelby described Ms. Hutton as morbidly obese, which means one hundred pounds more than ideal weight. He stated that she suffered from other medical illnesses exacerbated by her obesity. He thought her depression was caused by her limited ability to ambulate and to function at her job as a licensed practical nurse. Dr. Shelby testified that because Ms. Hutton had been habitually unsuccessful at dieting, he recommended she see Dr. Craighead for a new surgical procedure which would result in weight reduction and longterm weight control. He called Dr. Craighead on September 25, 1980 to explain her medical conditions and problems.

On September 29, 1980, Ms. Hutton consulted with Dr. Craighead concerning gastro-gastrostomy surgery for weight loss. This procedure entails a partial stapling of the stomach so that it is divided into a very small pouch connected to a larger pouch by a small tube with an opening of 1.5 centimeters. The purpose of the procedure is to reduce food intake, which results in weight loss.

At the time of this conference with the defendant doctor, Ms. Hutton had been an active, knowledgeable, experienced, licensed practical nurse since 1972. She was well aware of her physical conditions and her medical needs. She knew that her current medical conditions were caused by or contributed to by her obesity. She admitted at trial that she was informed by her physician, Dr. Shelby, and that she knew that the purpose of gastro-gastrostomy was to assist morbidly obese persons to lose weight. Additionally, she possessed information about the procedure from television and knew the medical difference between a gastric bypass and a gastric stapling. The sole purpose of her consultation with the defendant was to consider whether she should undergo gastro-gastrostomy surgery in a effort to lose weight.

Plaintiff admits in brief and the evidence is undisputed that the following discussion occurred at the conference:

Dr. Craighead explained the gastric stapling procedure to her and drew a diagram showing that the stomach would be stapled across at the top leaving the upper portion as a small pouch and a small aperture between the upper and lower portion. By this device she would get a quick feeling of satiety when she ate and by this means she would consume less without having to undergo a diet.

The evidence also indicated that the defendant explained the standard informed consent form and the various risks of the procedure, and that he answered all the plaintiff's questions.

Despite the above admissions, plaintiff contends that she would not have consented to the gastro-gastrostomy procedure except for Dr. Craighead's alleged material misrepresentations, which will be discussed subsequently.

At the conclusion of the conference, the doctor advised the plaintiff to think about her decision. Nevertheless, without requesting any further conferences, the plaintiff called the defendant to advise him that she voluntarily elected to undergo the surgery. She then made arrangements to be admitted into Touro Infirmary.

Plaintiff was admitted to Touro on October 26, 1980. On October 28, Ms. Hutton signed the "Consent to Treatment Form" in the presence of Dr. Jerry Kaplan, Dr. Craighead's resident, who explained the risks of the procedure. The operation, which was successful, took place October 29. Ms. Hutton does not claim, nor does she present any evidence, that the surgical procedure itself was below the standard of care. During her confinement subsequent to the surgery, the plaintiff was visited by Dr. Craighead and by a dietitian, who informed her about proper eating habits following the surgery. She was advised to eat small amounts of food and to stop eating when the sensation of fullness or nausea occurred.

*104 When Ms. Hutton was released from the hospital on November 10, her incision had not healed. It continued to drain until May of 1981 when Dr. Craighead admitted her to Mercy Hospital, opened up the site of the incision and left the wound open to heal. Dr. Craighead continued to see Ms. Hutton until July 6, 1981.

In August of 1981, Ms. Hutton saw Dr. Carter Nance. She complained that the wound was still draining and that she had not lost much weight since the surgery. At that time, she weighed 252 pounds. On examining Mrs. Hutton, Dr. Nance found that the staples were intact, but the opening between the pouches had stretched from 1.5 to 1.7 centimeters. Dr. Nance suggested tightening the opening to 1.3 centimeters, but Ms. Hutton declined further surgery.

In August of 1982, Ms. Hutton was admitted to Tulane Medical Center by Dr. Stella Jones, who ordered an x-ray of her stomach. The x-ray revealed that the small upper stomach pouch had stretched until it was equal in size to the lower pouch. At that time, the plaintiff weighed 287 pounds.

Prescription

Ms. Hutton's surgery took place October 29, 1980 and her claim was filed August 1, 1983. LSA-R.S. 9:5628, which governs the prescriptive time period, provides as follows:

Actions for medical malpractice

A. No action for damages for injury or death against any physician ... duly licensed under the laws of this state, whether based upon tort, or breach of contract, or otherwise, arising out of patient care shall be brought unless filed within one year from the date of the alleged act, omission, or neglect, or within one year from the date of discovery of the alleged act, omission, or neglect; however, even as to claims filed within one year from the date of such discovery, in all events such claims shall be filed at the latest within a period of three years from the date of the alleged act, omission, or neglect.

Appellants argue that when Ms. Hutton saw Dr. Nance in September of 1981 and was told that the operation ought to be done again, she became aware of a possible claim. Therefore, they maintain, her suit should have been filed at the latest in September of 1982. However, Dr.

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Related

Gassen v. East Jefferson General Hosp.
687 So. 2d 120 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1996)
Carter v. Louisiana Medical Mutual Insurance
614 So. 2d 222 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1993)
Hutton v. Craighead
533 So. 2d 374 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1988)

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Bluebook (online)
530 So. 2d 101, 1988 WL 84451, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hutton-v-craighead-lactapp-1988.