Parrott v. Caskey

873 S.W.2d 142, 1994 WL 103334
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 20, 1994
Docket09-93-011 CV
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 873 S.W.2d 142 (Parrott v. Caskey) 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
Parrott v. Caskey, 873 S.W.2d 142, 1994 WL 103334 (Tex. Ct. App. 1994).

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OPINION

WALKER, Chief Justice.

This is a medical malpractice action seeking damages for what is alleged to be the premature death of Sandra Jean Parrott and for damages incurred prior to her death. Trial was by jury, at the conclusion of which the trial court instructed a verdict in favor of defendants that the plaintiffs take nothing. It is from this instructed verdict that plaintiffs make their appeal.

THE PRELUDE

Factually, Jack L. Parrott is the widower of Sandra Jean Parrott. The other two plaintiffs, Rhonda Lynn Parrott and Roger Lee Parrott, are the surviving adult children of Sandra Jean Parrott. Mr. Parrott was a serviceman in the United States Navy, who, having retired in 1981, then moved to Lufkin, Texas.

In 1981, the Parrott family selected as their family physician, Dr. Royce Read, one of the defendants in this case. Sandra Par-rott was seen by Dr. Read off and on over the next several years. Mrs. Parrott was employed by Angelina Periodicals in February or March of 1984, in a position which required physical labor. Mrs. Parrott suffered an injury in the course of her employment in July of 1984. Mrs. Parrott, according to Dr. Caskey’s medical records and the testimony of Mr. Parrott, first saw Dr. Cas-key on July 25, 1984. According to Mr. Parrott, Mrs. Parrott went to Dr. Caskey at the direction of her employer. Upon first examination, Dr. Caskey prescribed medication, physical therapy and directed Mrs. Parrott not to return to work. Mrs. Parrott again saw Dr. Caskey on July 30, 1984. In early August of 1984, Mrs. Parrott began to experience physical pain and knots began to appear upon her body. Mrs. Parrott returned to Dr. Caskey in August of 1984 and in September of 1984.

Mrs. Parrott’s condition continued to deteriorate to the point that she was taken to an emergency room on September 22, 1984, which was her birthday. According to Mrs. Parrott the pain was “coming down from her head, down through her neck, into her back, shoulders, under her arm, her left side and chest area.”

The Monday following the emergency room visit, Mrs. Parrott saw Dr. Read in his office for medical treatment. Dr. Read changed Mrs. Parrott’s medication but did not perform a breast examination. Mrs. Par-rott then returned to see Dr. Caskey on September 24, 1984, who then diagnosed her as having Tietze syndrome, an inflation of the [144]*144chest cavity, however, Dr. Caskey did not examine Mrs. Parrott’s breasts. On October 5, 1984, Mrs. Parrott again went to Dr. Cas-key’s office and was treated by him with steroid injections to the shoulder and neck area. On October 11, 1984, Mrs. Parrott again saw Dr. Caskey at a time when the knots were visible on her neck, below and slightly behind her ear.

THE TRIAL

Mr. Parrott testified that he personally felt the knots in his wife’s neck and under her arm and that the knots had been under her arm since August, 1984. Mrs. Parrott had complained about not having energy and hurting as far back as the late Fall and Winter of 1983, at which time Dr. Read prescribed prenatal vitamins for her. Mrs. Parrott last saw Dr. Caskey on October 18, 1984.

Mrs. Parrott was next seen by Dr. C. Roger Lyons at St. John’s Department of Defense Clinic at Nassau Bay, Texas. Mr. Parrott, was retired from the Navy so his dependents were eligible for treatment at this clinic. Mr. Parrott testified that “Dr. Caskey continually told her (his wife) that it was all in her mind” and he released her to go back to work on October 18, 1984. This, according to Mr. Parrott, was devastating to his wife. From the record we observe the following discord:

Q. Mr. Parrott, from your observation of your wife, without going into what she might have told you, did she or did she not appear to be relieved at having finally found out what was wrong with her?
A. Yes, sir. She felt relieved. She had — that her illness was diagnosed. She also felt vindicated.
Q. Vindicated?
A. Yes, sir, vindicated.
Q. Vindicated from what?
A. From someone telling her that she was a malingerer, and there was nothing wrong with her, and it was all in her head.
Q. In your opinion did this cause her concern?
A. This caused her great emotional and mental suffering because she was a very proud person. She didn’t — she didn’t complain unless she had something to complain about it [sic]. She didn’t shirk her duties unless she had a reason for not being at her duties. She was hurt very deeply for being portrayed as a person that wouldn’t do her job.
Q. Without saying what it was, did you and she discuss this during the course of the time that Dr. Caskey was treating her?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. And state whether or not it’s your opinion that this caused her concern likewise?
A. Yes, it did.

Dr. Lyons first saw Mrs. Parrott on November 5, 1984. Mrs. Parrott died on February 17, 1985, having stayed in the hospital in Nassau Bay from November 5, 1984, until the date of her death, except for one week in Houston, Texas.

While at Nassau Bay, Mrs. Parrott’s primary treating physician was Dr. Lyons, and an oncologist, David P. Gill.

During those periods of time previously discussed, the Parrott’s daughter, Rhonda, was a senior student at Hudson High School, near Lufkin. She lived with Mrs. Parrott’s parents while Mr. and Mrs. Parrott were at Nassau Bay. Mr. Parrott related how the children, Rhonda and Roger, were affected during the time their mother was confined to the Nassau Bay area. At the time of her confinement, son Roger was in the Marine Corps undergoing basic training, or “boot camp.”

At trial, plaintiffs’ attorney posed a hypothetical question to Mr. Parrott, which asked him to assume that his wife’s condition was terminal as of July 24,1984, that she died on February 17, 1985, that a medical doctor would testify that had her cancer been diagnosed earlier, as of July 25, 1984, and that had treatment been instituted at that time, that it would have prolonged her life for a year or two years and based upon those assumptions, what significance would that prolongation of life have played in his consid[145]*145eration of the entire matter? Objection was made to this hypothetical question based upon hearsay and that such a hypothetical question entailed the theory of lost chance. The court sustained the objection.

On cross-examination by Dr. Caskey’s attorney, Mr. Parrott was asked to consider that Caskey’s records showed office visits for Mrs. Parrott on July 25, July 30, October 5, October 11 and October 18, all in 1984. Mr. Parrott testified that the records were incorrect.

Rhonda Rasbeary, formerly Rhonda Par-rott, testified as to biographical facts and the relationship between her mother and her. Rhonda graduated from high school in May of 1985, three months after her mother’s death. Upon cross-examination, Rhonda explained that, in this suit, she was seeking damages “for the premature loss of her mother.... I don’t believe they made her die. I believe they did not stop it from happening.”

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