In re Mcadoo

559 S.W.3d 589
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 18, 2018
DocketNo. 04-17-00628-CV
StatusPublished

This text of 559 S.W.3d 589 (In re Mcadoo) 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
In re Mcadoo, 559 S.W.3d 589 (Tex. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

Opinion by: Irene Rios, Justice

PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS DENIED

On September 28, 2017, relator filed a petition for writ of mandamus and a motion for temporary relief. The real parties filed a response, to which relator later replied. After considering the petition, response, and reply, this court concludes relator is not entitled to the relief sought. Accordingly, the petition for writ of mandamus is DENIED. See TEX. R. APP. P. 52.8(a).

Dissenting Opinion by: Marialyn Barnard, Justice

DISSENTING OPINION

Marialyn Barnard, Justice

At issue in this mandamus proceeding is whether the trial court abused its discretion in disregarding a jury verdict in favor of relator Dr. Andrew W. McAdoo and granting a new trial in favor of real parties in interest, O.J.H. and K.L.H., Individually and as Next Friend of J.P.H. (collectively "the parents"). After the jury returned its verdict, finding "no" in response to the broad form negligence question, the trial court granted a motion for new trial stating the jury's refusal to find negligence as to Dr. McAdoo was "so contrary to the overwhelming weight and preponderance of the evidence adduced at trial to be manifestly unjust." However, after conducting a merits-based mandamus review of the trial court's articulated reasons for granting the new trial, I do not believe the record supports the trial court's rationale for granting the new trial. In other words, I believe the record contains sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict. Accordingly, I would grant Dr. McAdoo's petition for writ of mandamus and order the trial court to (1) vacate its order granting the motion for new trial, and (2) reinstate the judgment based on the jury's verdict. I therefore respectfully dissent to the majority's denial of the petition for writ of mandamus.

*590BACKGROUND

The parents took their ten-year-old daughter, J.P.H., to the emergency room of Doctors Hospital in Laredo, Texas. The child was complaining of severe abdominal pain. Following a CT scan, the on-call radiologist, Dr. McAdoo, provided the emergency room doctor with his differential diagnosis2 :

pyosalpinx suggested on right[;] left ovarian cyst? Tubovarian abscess on left 4.2 x 2.7 cm[;] small amount of free fluid[,] right pelvis and stranding on left[;] appendix upper limits but appendicitis not favored

The emergency room doctor, based on his physical examination of J.P.H., her lab results, and Dr. McAdoo's report, began treating J.P.H. with antibiotics for a potential infection. At approximately 11:00 p.m., the emergency room doctor consulted with J.P.H.'s on-call pediatrician, who recommended that she be transferred to a hospital in San Antonio for higher level pediatric care given that Doctors Hospital had neither a pediatric surgeon nor pediatric gynecologist on staff. J.P.H.'s parents asked that J.P.H. be transferred to Methodist Children's Hospital in San Antonio. According to the record, Doctors Hospital began transfer procedures at approximately 1:00 a.m.

Shortly after Methodist Children's Hospital received the memorandum of transfer, it contacted Doctors Hospital, advising that before the transfer could take place, Doctors Hospital would have to file a police report because of Dr. McAdoo's pyosalpinx diagnosis. The record shows pyosalpinx can be indicative of sexual abuse; however, evidence at trial showed pyosalpinx may also be caused by infections other than sexually transmitted diseases, including ascending infections from other organs. To comply with Methodist Children's Hospital's request, Doctors Hospital contacted the Laredo Police Department at approximately 1:58 a.m. Officers from the department arrived shortly thereafter and took an "information-only" incident report.

J.P.H. left Doctors Hospital by ambulance at approximately 4:00 a.m., arriving at the emergency room of Methodist Children's Hospital just before 6:00 a.m. When she arrived, a Methodist Children's Hospital radiologist reviewed the prior CT scan and reported (1) elongation of the child's right fallopian tube, (2) free fluid in the child's pelvis, and (3) a caustic mass on the child's left pelvis superior to the uterus. The radiologist recommended an ultrasound of J.P.H.'s pelvis "with doppler." More than four hours later, the ultrasound was performed. At approximately 11:40 a.m., the results of the ultrasound were discussed with the Methodist Children's Hospital physician who was treating J.P.H. Although the ultrasound showed no abnormalities with regard to the child's uterus or right ovary, it revealed an abnormality with regard to the child's left ovary. The final report included the following "impression":

When correlating to the findings on the outside comparison CT scan, the ultrasound findings are also worrisome for left tubo-ovarian abscess. A hydrosalpinx or pyosalpinx is present as well with the dilated tubes identified in the right adnexal region.

*591(emphasis added). Thus, the ultrasound report also included a diagnosis that an infection was present-including a possible pyosalpinx infection as diagnosed by Dr. McAdoo. Because doctors at Methodist Children's Hospital could not conclusively determine J.P.H.'s condition, they recommended laparoscopic surgery. After the parents consented, surgery was performed at approximately 4:30 p.m., more than ten hours after J.P.H. arrived at Methodist Children's Hospital. During the surgery, the surgeon removed a portion of J.P.H.'s left fallopian tube because it was necrotic.

According to the post-operative pathology report, J.P.H. suffered from a "left torsed fallopian tube" "showing diffuse hemorrhagic necrosis." The report further stated the necrosis was consistent with an "acute infarction associated with adnexal torsion." Dr. Parke Hedges, an expert for Dr. McAdoo, explained the fallopian tube had been torsed, i.e., twisted, by an ovarian cyst that became enlarged, moving the fallopian tube into an abnormal position. Dr. Hedges opined the torsion caused a "very recent death of the tissue" in the left fallopian tube, probably sometime between the ultrasound and surgery.

Subsequent to the surgery and the loss of a portion of their child's left fallopian tube, the parents brought suit against Doctors Hospital and Dr. McAdoo alleging negligence. As to Dr. McAdoo, the parents claimed his misdiagnosis of pyosalpinx, which can be caused by a sexually transmitted disease, delayed the transport of J.P.H. to Methodist Children's Hospital in San Antonio. The parents alleged his misdiagnosis distracted personnel at Methodist Children's Hospital, leading them to believe the child had been sexually abused, which prompted hospital personnel to require a police report prior to transport. The parents alleged that if Dr. McAdoo had included in his preliminary report a diagnosis of hydrosalpinx, which is not associated with sexually transmitted diseases, as other experts subsequently did, transport would not have been delayed. According to the parents, but for the delay, J.P.H.'s fallopian tube would not have become necrotic and she would not face future infertility issues.

After the parents settled with Doctors Hospital, the matter proceeded to a jury trial with Dr. McAdoo as the sole defendant.

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

Related

Golden Eagle Archery, Inc. v. Jackson
116 S.W.3d 757 (Texas Supreme Court, 2003)
In Re Sanders
153 S.W.3d 54 (Texas Supreme Court, 2004)
In Re Cerberus Capital Management, L.P.
164 S.W.3d 379 (Texas Supreme Court, 2005)
Columbia Medical Center of Las Colinas, Inc. v. Hogue
271 S.W.3d 238 (Texas Supreme Court, 2008)
In Re Labatt Food Service, L.P.
279 S.W.3d 640 (Texas Supreme Court, 2009)
In Re Columbia Medical Center of Las Colinas, Subsidiary, L.P.
290 S.W.3d 204 (Texas Supreme Court, 2009)
In Re Reece
341 S.W.3d 360 (Texas Supreme Court, 2011)
Dow Chemical Co. v. Francis
46 S.W.3d 237 (Texas Supreme Court, 2001)
GTE Mobilnet of South Texas Ltd. Partnership v. Pascouet
61 S.W.3d 599 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2001)
Kramer v. Lewisville Memorial Hospital
858 S.W.2d 397 (Texas Supreme Court, 1993)
City of Keller v. Wilson
168 S.W.3d 802 (Texas Supreme Court, 2005)
McGalliard v. Kuhlmann
722 S.W.2d 694 (Texas Supreme Court, 1986)
Park Place Hospital v. Estate of Milo
909 S.W.2d 508 (Texas Supreme Court, 1995)
in Re Wyatt Field Service Company
454 S.W.3d 145 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2014)
in Re United Scaffolding, Inc.
377 S.W.3d 685 (Texas Supreme Court, 2012)
in Re: Zimmer, Inc.
451 S.W.3d 893 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2014)
In Re E.I. Dupont De Nemours and Company
463 S.W.3d 80 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015)
in Re Stacey Bent and Mark Bent
487 S.W.3d 170 (Texas Supreme Court, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
559 S.W.3d 589, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-mcadoo-texapp-2018.