Janga v. Colombrito

358 S.W.3d 403, 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 9708, 2011 WL 6146197
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 12, 2011
DocketNo. 05-10-00408-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 358 S.W.3d 403 (Janga v. Colombrito) 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
Janga v. Colombrito, 358 S.W.3d 403, 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 9708, 2011 WL 6146197 (Tex. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion By

Justice FITZGERALD.

Appellees Thomas and Phorsha Colom-brito sued appellants, Doctors Sireesha Janga and Richard Torres, alleging negligence in their treatment of Thomas. A jury found appellants were negligent in their treatment and awarded appellees more than $22 million. After applying settlement credits and statutory caps, the trial court’s January 4, 2010 final judgment awarded the Colombritos $504,291.94 from Torres and $10,125,725, jointly and severally, from Janga. In addition, the judgment awarded $250,000 in non-economic damages from Janga and Torres. Appellants raise three issues on appeal, alleging charge error and factual insufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury’s finding of liability and award of damages for loss of earning capacity. We conclude the trial court’s jury charge contained reversible error, and we remand this cause for new trial.

Background

Thomas Colombrito arrived at the emergency room at Dallas Regional Medical Center (the “Hospital”) early on the morning of Friday, January 11, 2008. Colom-brito complained, among other symptoms, of a headache with severe pain and a stiff neck. Dr. Sireesha Janga became Colom-brito’s treating physician, and she ordered a number of tests in an effort to identify Colombrito’s problem. As part of her plan of treatment, Janga prescribed aspirin and [406]*406Lovenox — which is a blood thinner — to be administered to Colombrito twice daily. The first dose of Lovenox was given to him at noon on Friday; the next was given at midnight. Janga also recommended Co-lombrito undergo a lumbar puncture because she was concerned about the possibility of meningitis. The procedure was performed by Dr. Lutfi Basatneh, a neurologist, on Saturday afternoon. However, Colombrito was given a dose of Lovenox at noon on Saturday, before the procedure; he was given another dose at midnight, after the procedure. There is no dispute that Lovenox is contraindicated before and after a lumbar puncture because it can cause bleeding around the spine. On Sunday Colombrito began to develop symptoms of a hematoma, including back pain, loss of feeling in his legs, and an inability to urinate. The hematoma could not be confirmed without an MRI, and Basatneh ordered an MRI “STAT” at 6:10 on Sunday evening, but the Hospital did not perform the MRI on Sunday. Indeed, the MRI was not performed until close to 3:00 on Monday afternoon; it revealed a spinal hematoma. Basatneh then ordered Co-lombrito transferred to a hospital where appropriate neurosurgery could be performed. The neurosurgery failed to restore Colombrito’s nerve function, and he continues to suffer from permanent, incomplete paraplegia, with chronic pain and depression. These facts are not disputed in the record before us. However, the parties vigorously disputed which of the health care providers were responsible for Colombrito’s injuries.

The Colombritos sued both Janga and Basatneh. They sued Torres, who took over Colombrito’s care from Janga at about 4:00 on Sunday afternoon while Jan-ga cared for her own sick child. Janga again took charge of Colombrito’s care on Monday morning. The Colombritos pleaded negligence claims against all three of these physicians.

The Colombritos also sued the Hospital. In their Fourth Amended Petition, they pleaded fourteen separate allegations of negligence by the Hospital:

1. Failure to diagnose, treat, or warn;
2. Failure to timely report the patient’s condition to the doctors;
3. Failure to recognize the patient’s condition and injury;
4. Failure to ensure that appropriate diagnostic measures (i.e. MRI) were performed in a timely manner as ordered;
5. Failure to follow up with the patient in a timely manner;
6. Failure to discontinue Lovenox;
7. Failure to notify the doctor that Lo-venox was not discontinued on a patient;
8. Failure to stop a lumbar puncture on a patient under the effects and influence of Lovenox;
9. Failure to know the rationale for and effects of the medications administered;
10. Failure to ensure the doctor’s orders were followed;
11. Failure to arrange a timely transfer of the patient when the hospital was unable to properly diagnose and treat the patient;
12. Failure to adopt, formulate, or enforce rules, protocols or policies concerning the treatment of patients in Thomas Colombrito’s condition;
13. Failure to ensure its employees, including nurses, comply with Rule 217.11, 217.12, the Standards of Nursing Practice, and other Rules of [sic] promulgated by the Nurse Practice Act and the Texas Board of Nursing; and
[407]*40714. Failure to warn or inform its patients, physicians, or the general public of its inability to provide MRIs and/or other appropriate diagnostic measures during the weekends.

These allegations were as to the Hospital’s own conduct; they represent claims of the Hospital’s direct negligence.

But the Colombritos also pleaded the Hospital was indirectly — or vicariously— liable for the negligence of Audrey Newton and Joan Smalling, the nurses assigned to care for Thomas Colombrito at the Hospital (together, the “Nurses”).1 Through a series of amended petitions, the Colombri-tos pleaded this indirect negligence claim under the specific headings of Vicarious Liability and Principal/Agent Liability. And, after listing the fourteen above allegations against the Hospital, the Colombri-tos pleaded:

Furthermore, in addition to above, Dallas Regional Medical Center is also vicariously liable for the negligence of its employees and nurses under respon-deat superior.

Thus, the pleadings specifically alleged vicarious liability for the Hospital for any negligent conduct of its employees.

The Colombritos next pleaded ten specific allegations of negligence against Smalling:

1. Failure to timely report the patient’s condition to the doctor;
2. Failure to recognize the patient’s condition and injury;
3. Failure to ensure that appropriate diagnostic measures (i.e. MRI) were performed in a timely manner as ordered;
4. Failure to follow up with the patient in a timely manner;
5. Failure to discontinue Lovenox;
6. Failure to notify the doctor that Lo-venox was not discontinued on a patient;
7. Failure to stop a lumbar puncture on a patient under the effects and influence of Lovenox;
8. Failure to know the rationale) for and effects of the medications administered;
9. Failure to ensure the doctor’s orders were followed; and
10. Failure to comply with Rule 217.11, 217.12, the Standards of Nursing Practice, and other Rules of [sic] promulgated by the Nurse Practice Act and the Texas Board of Nursing.

The Colombritos pleaded the same ten allegations against Newton and added one more:

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In re Bustamante
510 S.W.3d 732 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2016)
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
358 S.W.3d 403, 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 9708, 2011 WL 6146197, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/janga-v-colombrito-texapp-2011.