KD EX REL. KD v. Chambers

951 N.E.2d 855, 2011 Ind. App. LEXIS 1281, 2011 WL 2713526
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 13, 2011
Docket49A04-1010-CT-636
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 951 N.E.2d 855 (KD EX REL. KD v. Chambers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
KD EX REL. KD v. Chambers, 951 N.E.2d 855, 2011 Ind. App. LEXIS 1281, 2011 WL 2713526 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION

ROBB, Chief Judge.

Case Summary and Issues

Michelle Campbell observed her two-year-old child, K.D., suffer a reaction from an overdose of Benadryl and filed suit on behalf of K.D. and herself for medical malpractice. After the proposed complaint was presented to a medical review panel, the case was set for jury trial. K.D. and Campbell (“Plaintiffs”) now bring this interlocutory appeal from the trial court’s grant of pretrial evidentiary motions by Adrianne Chambers, R.N. and Riley Children’s Hospital (“Defendants”). On appeal, Plaintiffs raise the issues of whether the trial court abused its discretion when it: 1) granted Defendants’ motion to exclude all expert testimony by toxicologist Daniel J. McCoy, Ph.D., on the grounds that he was not qualified to offer expert medical testimony; 2) granted Defendants’ motion in limine to exclude evidence that Campbell suffered negligent infliction of emotional distress, on the grounds that no such claim had been properly pleaded; and 3) granted Defendants’ motion in limine to exclude evidence of breaches of the standard of care, other than the overdose of Benadryl, that were not presented to the medical review panel.

As to the first issue, we conclude the trial court abused its discretion in excluding McCoy’s testimony based solely on his curriculum vitae without holding an Evi *858 dence Rule 702 hearing. As for the second issue, the trial court did not abuse its discretion because no claim of negligent infliction of emotional distress was sufficiently pleaded. As for the third issue, the trial court correctly excluded Plaintiffs from introducing evidence of separate breaches of the standard of care not presented to the medical review panel, but because one of those claimed breaches is within the scope of Plaintiffs’ submission to the review panel, we reverse in part the trial court’s grant of Defendants’ motion. In sum, we affirm in part and reverse in part the trial court’s orders and remand for further proceedings.

Facts and Procedural History

On May 9, 1995, Campbell took K.D. to the emergency department of Riley Children’s Hospital (the “Hospital”) after he sustained a bump to the head. Campbell watched as Nurse Chambers administered an intravenous dose of Benadryl to K.D. Nurse Chambers administered an excessive dose of 125 milligrams, when the medically indicated dose for a child of KD.’s age and size was 12.5 milligrams. K.D. soon exhibited a reaction to the overdose, his body shaking “as if a seizure.” Appellants’ Appendix at 37. Campbell informed Nurse Chambers that K.D. had never reacted to Benadryl in such a manner. K.D. was hospitalized overnight, treated, and released the next day. Since then, K.D. has continued to suffer from a tremor that Plaintiffs claim was proximately caused by the overdose.

In May 1997, Plaintiffs filed a proposed complaint with the Indiana Department of Insurance, naming Nurse Chambers and the Hospital, among others, as defendants. The two-count complaint alleged:

COUNT I
[[Image here]]
4. [K.D.] came under the care and treatment of [two physicians] on May 9, 1995 and May 10, 1995 at the [Hospital].
5. [The two physicians] were careless and negligent in [the] care and treatment of [K.D.], as [K.D.] suffered a Benadryl overdose while under their care. [K.D.] received various other overdoses while under the 'care of defendant [sic].
6. As a direct and proximate result of the carelessness and negligence of these doctors, [K.D.] suffered from a Benadryl overdose.
7. As a direct and proximate result of carelessness and negligence of the aforementioned medical providers, [Campbell] has incurred medical and hospital expenses on behalf of her son.
8. As a direct and proximate result of the carelessness and negligence of the aforementioned doctors, [K.D.] has been permanently damaged.
[[Image here]]
COUNT II
[[Image here]]
3. [K.D.] came under the care and treatment of [the Hospital] on May 9, 1995 and May 10,1995.
4. [The Hospital] and it’s [sic] employees, Adrianne Chambers, Hematology Staff and other employees were careless and negligent in their care and treatment of [K.D.].
5. As a direct and proximate result of the carelessness and negligence of [the Hospital], its employee nurse Adrianne Chambers and it’s [sic] medical staff, [K.D.] suffered from multiple overdoses administered by defendants.
[[Image here]]
8. As a direct and proximate result of [the Hospital], Adrianne Chambers and its employees [sic] carelessness and *859 negligence, [Campbell] has incurred medical and hospital expenses on behalf of her son.
9. As a direct and proximate result of the carelessness and negligence of [the Hospital], [K.D.] has been permanently damaged.

Appellants’ Appendix at 70-73.

In March 2004, Plaintiffs tendered a submission to the Medical Review Panel (“Review Panel”) setting forth issues, facts, and evidence. Plaintiffs stated the “issues presented in this case” as:

Whether the Defendant, [Nurse] Chambers ... was negligent and breached the standard of care in one or more of the following ways:
1) Failed to give the proper dosage of Benadryl as it was ordered.
2) Failed to question or ensure whether the dosage of Benadryl that she gave was an appropriate dosage for a child who weighed 15 kg.

Appellees’ Appendix at 25. Plaintiffs’ submission referred to the Proposed Complaint, attached as an exhibit along with medical records, but did not specify any overdoses or breaches of the standard of care other than the overdose of Benadryl. In August 2007, the Review Panel issued its opinion that:

The evidence supports the conclusion that defendants [Nurse] Chambers, R.N. and [the Hospital] failed to comply with the appropriate standard of care.... Such failure was a factor in temporary harm to the patient but without a loss of consciousness or long-term effects.

Id. at 31. The Review Panel found that the other named physicians and hematology staff had not breached the standard of care.

In September 2007, Plaintiffs filed their complaint in Marion Superior Court with allegations materially identical to their proposed complaint. Following discovery, a jury trial was scheduled for October 4, 2010. Defendants filed a motion to exclude the expert testimony of Daniel J. McCoy, Ph.D., on the grounds that he was not properly qualified as an expert.

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

Related

Charles McKeen, M.D. v. Billy Turner
71 N.E.3d 833 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2017)
Pastor Llobet, M.D. v. Juan Gutierrez
71 N.E.3d 54 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2017)
Charles McKeen, M.D. v. Billy Turner
61 N.E.3d 1251 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2016)
Ball Memorial Hospital, Inc. v. Fair
26 N.E.3d 674 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2015)
Whitfield v. Wren
14 N.E.3d 792 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2014)
Reginald N. Person, Jr. v. Carol A. Shipley
962 N.E.2d 1192 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2012)
Bennett v. Richmond
960 N.E.2d 782 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2012)
Spangler v. Bechtel
958 N.E.2d 458 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
951 N.E.2d 855, 2011 Ind. App. LEXIS 1281, 2011 WL 2713526, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kd-ex-rel-kd-v-chambers-indctapp-2011.