Mogensen v. Hicks

110 N.W.2d 563, 253 Iowa 139, 1961 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 601
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedSeptember 19, 1961
Docket50347
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 110 N.W.2d 563 (Mogensen v. Hicks) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mogensen v. Hicks, 110 N.W.2d 563, 253 Iowa 139, 1961 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 601 (iowa 1961).

Opinions

Peterson, J.

This is an action seeking damages for malpractice. Plaintiff sued not only his physicians, Doctors Hicks and Howard, but Ciba Pharmaceutical Products, Inc., who produced the anesthesia under question, Lutheran Hospital, where the medical services were rendered, and Toller Drug Company from whom the anesthesia was purchased. The trial court sustained motion to direct verdict in favor of Toller Drug Company. The jury failed to return a verdict against Lutheran Hospital. A verdict of $8000 was returned against Doctors Hicks and Howard, and Ciba. They have appealed.

Plaintiff’s petition contained two counts. Count I was based on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. Count II alleged specific negligence. The court sustained motion to strike Count II. [141]*141Plaintiff has not appealed from the adverse orders of the court, nor from the failure of the jury to return verdict against Lutheran Hospital.

Plaintiff is a young man 28 years of age. He had experienced some bleeding when he urinated. His family physician, Dr. I. C. Yangsness, arranged with Doctor Hicks, a specialist in urology, to make a cystoseopic examination on the morning of September 27, 1957, at Lutheran Hospital in Sioux City.

Plaintiff was brought into a room known as the cystoseopic room, and placed on a table near the center of the room. Elfrieda Aljets, an experienced and registered. nurse, was on duty and made all the preliminary arrangements as to complete cleanliness and sterility. Walter M. Trizala was Doctor Hicks anesthetist. He was a technical sergeant during the war, working in the urology department in a hospital in Germany, administering topical anesthesia. Since his discharge from the army he had worked for Doctor Hicks about ten years. He had administered between four and five thousand anesthetic applications.

The only persons in the room were plaintiff, the nurse, Mr. Trizala and Doctor Hicks. While Mr. Trizala was preparing plaintiff for the examination Doctor Hicks was talking with Doctor Yangsness, the family physician, immediately outside the door of the room, a few feet from the examination table.

The anesthesia which Doctor Hicks was using was known as pyribenzamine, manufactured by defendant Ciba. After several years of research and after approval of the Federal Food and Drug Administration in October 1954 the drug was placed on the market in the spring of 1955.

Doctor Hicks had used it for several months. Mr. Trizala had administered it successfully as a topical anesthesia between 30 and 401 times. Topical administration means it is used on the skin as a local anesthesia for the part of the body affected.

Mr. Trizala brought a new bottle of the anesthesia with him, which Doctor Hicks had purchased a few days earlier at Toller Drug Company. The seal was broken in the presence of the nurse, and each read the name of pyribenzamine on the label, out loud, as a double check.

[142]*142The nature of the examination was through the penis, in order to examine the bladder, kidneys and prostate gland, for the purpose of finding the basis of the bleeding.

To do this without pain or discomfort to the patient, it was necessary to anesthetize the penis.

Mr. Trízala and the nurse placed 5 ec. of pyribenzamine in. a sterilized syringe, and Mr. Trízala applied the anesthesia. He had injected from 1 to 1% cc. when plaintiff said he felt a burning sharp pain. Mr. Trízala at that time said he noticed the skin around the urethra became white. He ceased further injection and called Doctor Hicks, who was standing close by. Doctor Hicks Immediately decided not to proceed with the examination that morning, and thoroughly washed out the penis with sterile water. The Doctor testified: “It was a good anesthesia. I had no trouble using it with other patients. My •opinion is that plaintiff had an allergic reaction.”

Plaintiff was removed to a hospital room, and was in the hospital four days.

Dr. Louis J. Frank, an experienced dermatologist was called. He said 'he saw plaintiff and “observed some swelling in the head of the glans surrounding the urethra. There was some inflammation there, yet it did not appear to be very severe as I saw it. He had no difficulty passing urine. * * * we put him on steroid therapy internally, which was used to help control allergic reactions * * * and wet packs. locally.” Doctor Frank was asked as to what, in his opinion, caused the condition described by. plaintiff. His answer was: “My opinion was that he had an allergic reaction to pyribenzamine which was used as a local anesthetic.”

Plaintiff was away from work two weeks. His employer was kind and paid him his wages for the time off. When he returned he had to do light work for three or four weeks. In February of 1958 Doctor Hicks made the examination which had been contemplated in September under a general anesthetic. Plaintiff was in the hospital two or three days. He said there-, after the pain persisted for six or eight weeks. He said that at the time of trial he still had a little pain, and was still having some “spraying” action when urinating.

[143]*143I. The only question in the case is whether the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur is applicable. If not, the motion by defendants, for judgment notwithstanding verdict, should be sustained.

The essential component parts of res ipsa (as we will denominate the doctrine) are: a. The instrumentalities causing the injury must have been under the exclusive control of defendants, and b. The happening of the injury must be such that in the ordinary course of events it would not occur without lack of due care on the part of defendants.

II. The doctor was not in full control of the instrumentalities involved. He controlled the surgical instruments and the medicine, but he had no control over the condition and reactions of his patient. The allergic reaction of plaintiff in the instant case was an element beyond his control.

The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur should be used sparingly. Shinofield v. Curtis, 245 Iowa 1352, 66 N.W.2d 465, 471, 50 A. L. R.2d 964; 65 C. J. S., Negligence, section 220(10).

A doctor’s constant contact are with the frailties, idiosyncrasies, physical and mental weaknesses, and allergies, of human nature. They may affect the condition, and yet are beyond his control.

It is for this reason that in many medical eases the doctrine of res ipsa has been rejected. Berg v. Willett, 212 Iowa 1109, 232 N.W. 821; Gebhardt v. McQuillen, 230 Iowa 181, 186, 187, 297 N.W. 301; Lippard v. Johnson, 215 N. C. 384, 1 S.E.2d 889; Prewitt v. Higgins, 231 Ky. 678, 22 S.W.2d 115; Hawkins v. McCain, 239 N. C. 160, 79 S.E.2d 493; 53 A. L. R.2d 148; Groce v. Myers, 224 N. C. 165, 29 S.E.2d 553; Whetstine v. Moravec, 228 Iowa 352, 291 N.W. 425.

In Gebhardt v. McQuillen, supra, the court refused to apply the doctrine, and said:

“In fact, the rule of res ipsa loquitur is seldom applied to eases of malpractice by physicians or surgeons.

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Mogensen v. Hicks
110 N.W.2d 563 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1961)

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Bluebook (online)
110 N.W.2d 563, 253 Iowa 139, 1961 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 601, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mogensen-v-hicks-iowa-1961.