Regala v. Rush North Shore Medical Center

752 N.E.2d 443, 323 Ill. App. 3d 579, 256 Ill. Dec. 563
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 10, 2001
Docket1-99-4049
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 752 N.E.2d 443 (Regala v. Rush North Shore Medical Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Regala v. Rush North Shore Medical Center, 752 N.E.2d 443, 323 Ill. App. 3d 579, 256 Ill. Dec. 563 (Ill. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

JUSTICE O’BRIEN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiffs, Rowena and Roberto Regala, brought a medical malpractice action individually and on behalf of their infant son, Ryan Re-gala, against defendants, Rush North Shore Medical Center (the hospital), Arlene Boyle, R.N., Rose Monahan, R.N., Doctor Bernard Michael Nagel and Women’s Health Consultants (WHC). A jury verdict was rendered in favor of all defendants. The circuit court denied plaintiffs’ posttrial motion regarding Nurse Boyle, Nurse Monahan, and the hospital (hereinafter collectively referred to as defendants), but remanded for a new trial as to Doctor Nagel and WHC, based upon their untimely withdrawal of a disclosed expert witness. On appeal, plaintiffs argue that the court erred by: (1) denying their motion for a new trial against defendants; (2) refusing to give certain jury instructions; (3) allowing the hospital’s expert to give previously undisclosed Supreme Court Rule 213(g) (177 Ill. 2d R. 213(g)) opinion testimony; (4) barring questions about a Christmas party attended by defendant Monahan; and (5) denying plaintiffs’ motion for sanctions. We reverse and remand for a new trial.

Plaintiff received prenatal care from Doctor Nagel, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist. On December 19, 1990, six days after her expected due date, plaintiff experienced abdominal discomfort and saw bright red blood in her panty liner. Plaintiff called Doctor Nagel, who sent her to the hospital for a non-stress test (NST) to establish fetal well-being.

On December 19, plaintiff arrived at the hospital, where Nurse Boyle attached plaintiff to an external fetal monitor to do the NST. By 11 a.m., Nurse Boyle charted her NST impressions, which were normal and reassuring of fetal well-being.

Nurse Boyle took plaintiffs blood pressure, which was 142/102. Plaintiff’s 142/102 blood pressure was elevated and abnormal and placed her at risk for preeclampsia and placental abruption. Doctor Nagel testified that he asked Nurse Boyle on December 19 whether plaintiff was doing okay and that Nurse Boyle responded “yes.” Nurse Boyle testified that she would not have stated that plaintiff was doing okay unless she had retaken plaintiffs blood pressure and determined that it was normal. However, plaintiffs chart reflects only the 142/102 blood pressure.

Doctor Nagel performed a vaginal exam on plaintiff on December 19; no apparent, active bleeding was found during the exam. Doctor Nagel discharged plaintiff and instructed her to “follow-up” on December 20.

At noon on December 20, Doctor Nagel examined plaintiff in his office. During the exam, plaintiffs blood pressure was 164/98. This was the first time in plaintiffs pregnancy that Doctor Nagel was aware of a significantly elevated blood pressure. Nagel also found a trace of protein in plaintiffs urine. Plaintiffs elevated blood pressure and the protein in her urine indicated that plaintiff was at risk for preeclampsia.

At 12:20 p.m. on December 20, Doctor Nagel admitted plaintiff to the hospital’s labor and delivery unit, where she came under the care of nurse Monahan. Nurse Monahan testified that she did not have time to look at plaintiffs prenatal chart prior to her arrival at the hospital.

Nurse Monahan took plaintiffs blood pressure, which was now 163/97. Nurse Monahan performed a urine test, which showed an abnormal amount of protein, another indicator of preeclampsia. Nurse Monahan applied the fetal monitor to plaintiff and determined that the fetus lacked good heart accelerations, perhaps because it was sleeping. To wake the fetus, Nurse Monahan gave plaintiff a bolus containing a large quantity of fluid and instructed her to stay on her left side.

Doctor Nagel arrived at the hospital about 1 p.m. and examined plaintiff. After learning that plaintiffs blood pressure had remained elevated and that she had a significant amount of protein in her urine, Doctor Nagel ruptured plaintiffs bag of waters and attached a fetal scalp electrode to the fetus’s head to monitor its heart rate.

After rupturing the bag of waters and inserting the fetal scalp electrode, Doctor Nagel returned to his office. Nurse Monahan stayed with plaintiff for approximately 10 to 15 minutes after Doctor Nagel left, then she exited plaintiffs room and went to a room behind the nurse’s station.

A few minutes later, plaintiff looked at the fetal monitor and noticed that the fetal heart rate had dropped. Plaintiff pushed the nurse’s call button, but there was no response. Plaintiff then told her husband, Roberto, to go find a nurse.

Roberto went down the hall to the nurse’s station, but nobody was there. He then saw a room filled with people, food, and decorations. Someone in the room approached Roberto and asked him if he needed help. Roberto stated that he needed to find his wife’s nurse because he was concerned about the numbers on the fetal monitor. Nurse Monahan then walked over to Roberto, and they went back to plaintiffs room.

When Nurse Monahan entered the room, she looked at the monitor and saw that the fetus’s heart rate had dropped suddenly at about 1:20 p.m. Nurse Monahan knew that the fetus was in distress and she began intrauterine resuscitation. She also summoned Doctor Nguyenphuc, an obstetrician on the labor and delivery unit, who determined that plaintiff was experiencing a placental abruption.

Someone on the labor and delivery unit contacted Doctor Nagel, who immediately returned to the hospital and performed an emergency cesarean (C-section) on plaintiff. The baby (Ryan) was delivered at. 1:43 p.m., about 22 minutes after the drop in the fetal heart rate. Ryan was born brain damaged.

After the delivery, Doctor Nagel found a 25% placental abruption and evidence of preeclampsia. According to the hospital’s expert, Doctor Vannucci, Ryan’s brain damage began at 1:36 p.m. Doctor Vannucci testified, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that Ryan would be normal today had he been delivered by 1:33 p.m.

Plaintiffs claimed that Doctor Nagel was negligent for: (1) failing to admit plaintiff for further assessment and monitoring on December 19; (2) failing to perform a C-section on December 20 shortly after admitting plaintiff to the hospital; (3) failing to attempt intrauterine resuscitation on December 20; (4) rupturing plaintiffs bag of waters on December 20; and (5) leaving plaintiff after rupturing her bag of waters on December 20.

Plaintiffs claimed that Nurse Boyle was negligent for (1) failing to advise Doctor Nagel that plaintiff had an elevated blood pressure of 142/102 on December 19; and, (2) telling Doctor Nagel that plaintiff was “okay,” knowing that plaintiff had an elevated blood pressure of 142/102.

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Bluebook (online)
752 N.E.2d 443, 323 Ill. App. 3d 579, 256 Ill. Dec. 563, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/regala-v-rush-north-shore-medical-center-illappct-2001.