Narcisse v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co.

228 So. 2d 186, 1969 La. App. LEXIS 5610
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 17, 1969
DocketNo. 7776
StatusPublished

This text of 228 So. 2d 186 (Narcisse v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co.) 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
Narcisse v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 228 So. 2d 186, 1969 La. App. LEXIS 5610 (La. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

BLANCHE, Judge.

This is a suit for damages for miscarriage and related pain, suffering and mental anguish allegedly caused by the negligent operation of an automobile by plaintiff’s husband, Curtis Narcisse, in which plaintiff was riding as a passenger. Made defendant is United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company, the liability insurer of Curtis Narcisse. Plaintiff alleged that while her husband was in the process of turning and backing the Narcisse automobile from the street into the driveway of the Narcisse home, her husband negligently caused the right rear wheel of the automobile to fall into a drainage ditch, causing [187]*187plaintiff to be knocked about within the vehicle. Plaintiff alleged that she was pregnant at the time of the accident and as a result thereof she suffered the loss of the fetus. Defendant answered the suit denying any negligence on the part of Curtis Narcisse arid further denying in any event that such negligence was the proximate cause of any injury sustained by the plaintiff. In the alternative, defendant pleaded contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff and by amended answer pleaded in the further alternative that the miscarriage or abortion was caused by the refusal of plaintiff to obey the orders of her physician who directed her not to undertake an automobile trip from Houma, Louisiana, to New Iberia, Louisiana. Judgment was rendered, read and signed by the trial court dismissing plaintiff’s suit, no written reasons being handed down by the presiding judge.

A review of the record convinces us that plaintiff has failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the alleged negligence of her husband was the proximate cause of her subsequent abortion and resultant injuries. This finding makes it unnecessary to pass upon the issues of negligence of Curtis Narcisse, plaintiff’s contributory negligence and the contention of defendant that the injuries were caused by plaintiff’s refusal to obey alleged medical instructions proscribing a trip to New Iberia.

In her petition plaintiff alleged that the accident occurred on or about March 13, 1963, while in her testimony plaintiff stated the accident occurred on March 11, 1963. Dr. H. L. Haydel, a physician engaged in the general practice of medicine in Houma, Louisiana, testified he examined plaintiff on February 19, 1963, and made a tentative diagnosis of possible pregnancy. Dr. Haydel testified he next saw plaintiff on March 12, 1963, at Terrebonne General Hospital, and as a result of his examination he detected vaginal bleeding and a threatened abortion. Dr. Haydel admitted plaintiff to the hospital where she remained until March 15, 1963, when she was discharged, the bleeding having subsided. This was the last time plaintiff ever consulted Dr. Haydel. It is significant to note that Dr. Haydel testified that he treated her for'no symptoms other than cramping and bleeding, thus negating any objective evidence of trauma such as contusion. When questioned concerning the role of trauma in causing abortions in the early stages of pregnancy, Dr. Haydel testified that it is rarely in the early stages of pregnancy that trauma will definitely produce an abortion, and because of the anatomy of the female pelvis and the position of the uterus in the pelvic cavity, it would take a direct blow or virtually a direct blow to the uterus itself in the early stages of pregnancy to cause an abortion. Dr. Haydel also stated he doubted seriously if just a strain on the body caused by any stretching thereof in the early stages of pregnancy would cause an abortion.

The following excerpts from Dr. Hay-del’s testimony are relevant:

Q What were the symptoms that you witnessed and based your diagnosis upon, sir?
A The conclusive diagnosis was made by a frog test. * * * and she had vaginal bleeding and cramps. And clinically it looked like she had a threatened abortion. * * *
* * * * * *
Q Can you rule out the possibility that an abortion or a miscarriage is caused by trauma of let’s say an automobile accident?
A That’s rather a hard question to answer, because we have come across this frequently, why do women abort. We see so many women that do abort without any history of trauma whatsoever, and on the other hand, of course, sometimes people will claim they have a trauma, and they will have an abortion. And during the early stages of pregnancy, as you [188]*188know the uterus is embedded deep into the pelvic cavity, thoroughly protected, and it’s rarely that — in my experience, of course I am speaking from my personal experience, it’s rarely the early stages of pregnancy do we get a trauma that will definitely produce an abortion. Did I answer the question you asked?
Q Yes, sir. The trauma that do [sic] result in miscarriages, would you say that it would be possible for even a slight trauma to cause it?
A I would say no, unless you would get a direct injury to the uterus itself. If you know the anatomy of the female pelvis, and the position of the uterus down into the pelvic cavity, it lodges deeply into the pelvis, you would have to get a direct blow on the uterus itself in the early stages of pregnancy to cause an abortion. Now, when you are speaking of a woman at term receiving a direct blow to the abdomen, a trauma could definitely cause injury there, but in six to eight weeks pregnancy, you would have to get almost a direct blow right onto the uterus itself containing the embryo.
Q What about, let’s say, 12 to 14 weeks ?
A The baby is in the embryonic stage, and that uterus is not very large, and you would almost have to get a blow I’d say, just directly.
Q Doctor, we have been talking mainly about the trauma itself. What about the results of an external force that would cause an extreme stretching condition in the body, if a woman were hit in an automobile, or in any other conveyance, that would cause her body to turn in any particular way or stretch to an extreme possibly, could this result in a miscarriage ?
A I would answer that question no. I doubt seriously if just a strain on the body in the early stages of pregnancy would cause it. As I mentioned before I think she would probably have to receive almost a direct blow on the lower abdomen.

Dr. Thomas Givens, also a general practitioner of medicine in Houma, Louisiana, testified that he first saw and examined plaintiff in his office on March 22, 1963, at which time he detected vaginal bleeding and marked infection of the pelvic area for which he prescribed antibiotics and other medication. Dr. Givens testified he next saw plaintiff at the emergency room of Terrebonne General Hospital on March 23, 1963, at which time physical examination revealed heavier vaginal bleeding. She was admitted to the hospital for treatment where she remained for four days. Dr. Givens stated he felt she was suffering from a monilia infection from which he said plaintiff had been suffering for months. After the bleeding subsided plaintiff was released from the hospital for bed rest, but she was rehospitalized on March 30, 1963, where she remained until April 2, 1963. Dr. Givens last saw plaintiff on April 5, 1963, at which time the bleeding had subsided although the infection was still present. Dr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
228 So. 2d 186, 1969 La. App. LEXIS 5610, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/narcisse-v-united-states-fidelity-guaranty-co-lactapp-1969.