Moore v. Willis-Knighton Medical Center

720 So. 2d 425, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 2972, 1998 WL 748948
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 28, 1998
Docket31203-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 720 So. 2d 425 (Moore v. Willis-Knighton Medical Center) 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
Moore v. Willis-Knighton Medical Center, 720 So. 2d 425, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 2972, 1998 WL 748948 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

720 So.2d 425 (1998)

Madeline MOORE, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
WILLIS-KNIGHTON MEDICAL CENTER, et al., Defendant-Appellee.

No. 31203-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

October 28, 1998.

*426 Edmund M. Thomas, Benjamin P. Mouton, Baton Rouge, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Cook, Yancey, King & Galloway by Lisa Dunn Folsom, Shreveport, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before HIGHTOWER, GASKINS and PEATROSS, JJ.

GASKINS, Judge.

The plaintiff, Madeline Moore, appeals from a jury verdict rejecting her claim that the defendant, Willis-Knighton Medical Center, was negligent in issuing her a toilet seat to use at home while recuperating from right hip repair surgery which did not clamp down on the toilet. Two months after her discharge, the plaintiff claims the toilet seat *427 slipped during use and the plaintiff fell, breaking her left hip. For the following reasons, we affirm the jury verdict and trial court judgment.

FACTS

In 1984 the plaintiff was 67 years old and was employed as a salesperson in a local millinery shop. In December of that year, she slipped and fell at work, breaking her right hip. The plaintiff was hospitalized and the hip was surgically repaired by Dr. M.E. Milstead. On December 18, 1984, she was released from the hospital. Because Dr. Milstead was not on duty, his colleague, Dr. Lewis Jones, discharged the plaintiff from the hospital. Dr. Jones, who had also treated the plaintiff in the past, ordered an elevated toilet seat to be sent home with the plaintiff. The hospital supplied the plaintiff with a toilet seat like the one she used in the hospital. The device was designed to raise the normal level of the toilet seat in order to lessen the strain on a joint post-operatively. The seat had metal extensions that pressed down onto the rim of the bowl, but it did not clamp down. It was delivered to the plaintiff in a box and under the bottom of the toilet seat was the following warning:

This product is designed to safely support 250 lbs. When weight exceeds this, transfer patients, or when patients with balance problems are involved, "CLAMP LEG" models should be used. SIDE RAILS are also recommended for certain conditions. CAUTION: Patient should never be left alone when using this device.

Due to complications with the healing process, Mrs. Moore was initially told not to place weight on the right foot and shortly thereafter, she was told to only use toe touch weight bearing on her right side and to continue to use her walker. On February 26, 1985, while at home alone, she attempted to use the elevated toilet seat and she claims that the seat tipped with her and she fell, breaking her left hip. She was again hospitalized and the left hip was surgically repaired by Dr. Jones.

On May 1, 1985, Dr. Jones deemed the plaintiff to be sufficiently recovered from the right hip injury to return to work. However, she was still being treated for the left hip and did not return to work. The plaintiff continued to see Dr. Jones for pain in her left hip until June 18, 1985. At that point Dr. Jones released the plaintiff from his care and felt that she could have returned to work in September or October of 1985. The plaintiff claims that as a result of the second hip injury, she never recovered sufficiently to return to work and she required assistance in cooking, cleaning, and bathing. However, with assistance, she was able to live at home alone for ten years after this injury.

The plaintiff contended that the toilet seat given her was designed to be used only by persons who required no assistance in walking and not by those with balance problems. She asserted that, because her right hip was still healing, requiring the continued use of a walker, she had a mechanical balance problem. She further asserted that she received either no instructions or incorrect instructions in the hospital in the use of the walker in conjunction with the toilet seat and that she received no instructions in the use of the walker and toilet seat upon her release from the hospital. She contended that Dr. Jones and Willis-Knighton Medical Center were negligent in providing her with a commode extension not designed for her type of disability, in failing to warn of the instability of the extension and in failing to instruct her or instructing her improperly in its use.

A medical review panel was convened and on February 6, 1989 determined that the evidence did not show that Dr. Jones or Willis-Knighton Medical Center failed to meet the applicable standard of care. The plaintiff then filed suit in district court on May 5, 1989, naming Dr. Jones and Willis-Knighton Medical Center as defendants. The plaintiff reached an agreement with Willis-Knighton to accept $75,000.00 and half the costs in settlement of all her claims against the hospital, reserving her right to seek damages in excess of the sum paid by Willis-Knighton from the Louisiana Patients' Compensation Fund and Dr. Jones. However, under the terms of the agreement, Willis-Knighton was required to remain in the case as a nominal defendant. Accordingly, Willis-Knighton was represented at trial by the *428 Louisiana Patient's Compensation Fund and Oversight Board. Dr. Jones was dismissed from the suit after jury selection, but before the testimony began.

The case was tried before a jury. On July 11, 1997, the jury returned a 9-3 verdict finding that Willis-Knighton did not breach the standard of care owed by the hospital to the plaintiff in this case. The plaintiff filed motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for new trial which were denied by the trial court. The plaintiff then appealed the jury verdict.

ARGUMENTS ON APPEAL

The plaintiff first argues that the jury erred as a matter of law in finding that the hospital did not breach the standard of care owned to her. Mrs. Moore contends that the jury failed to apply the national standard of care as instructed by the trial court and, instead, applied Willis-Knighton's own standard of care to the facts presented. The plaintiff contends that she presented ample uncontradicted evidence that the applicable standard of care was breached in her case. The plaintiff argues that she established that she was given a toilet seat extension not appropriate for a person with her disability. She also claims that she received erroneous instructions from the nursing staff to place her weight completely on the walker while sitting and rising. She further claims that the hospital records show that on discharge, she was given no instructions on the use of the toilet seat extension.

The plaintiff urges that, because the jury failed to apply the law as instructed, the jury erred as a matter of law in denying her claim and this court should reverse the verdict and conduct a de novo review. The plaintiff asserts that on de novo review, we should make determinations as to causation and comparative fault and should award her damages.

Legal Principles

Malpractice claims against a hospital are subject to the general rules of proof applicable to any negligence action. A plaintiff must prove that the defendant had a duty to protect against the risk involved, that the defendant breached its duty and that the plaintiff's injury was caused by the defendant's conduct. Smith v. State, through Department of Health and Human Resources, 523 So.2d 815 (La.1988); Roberts v. Cox, 28,094 (La.App.2d Cir.2/28/96), 669 So.2d 633.

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Bluebook (online)
720 So. 2d 425, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 2972, 1998 WL 748948, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moore-v-willis-knighton-medical-center-lactapp-1998.