Roberson v. Provident House

559 So. 2d 838, 1990 La. App. LEXIS 543, 1990 WL 27007
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 14, 1990
Docket88-CA-2406
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 559 So. 2d 838 (Roberson v. Provident House) 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
Roberson v. Provident House, 559 So. 2d 838, 1990 La. App. LEXIS 543, 1990 WL 27007 (La. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

559 So.2d 838 (1990)

James ROBERSON
v.
PROVIDENT HOUSE.

No. 88-CA-2406.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

March 14, 1990.
Rehearing Denied May 17, 1990.

*839 James S. Conner, Sr., Kenner, in pro. per., and for plaintiff-appellant.

C. Wm. Bradley, Jr., Lemle, Kelleher, Kohlmeyer, Dennery, Hunley, Moss & Frilot, New Orleans, for defendants-appellees.

Before BARRY, WARD and WILLIAMS, JJ.

WARD, Judge.

James Roberson appeals the dismissal of his personal injury lawsuit against the defendant nursing home.

Roberson sued Gemar, Inc., d/b/a Provident House (nursing home), its insurer Western World Insurance Company, and Dr. Joseph Brenner, his physician at the home. Roberson alleged that while he was at Provident House a catheter was implanted which caused an infection and bleeding. Roberson dismissed Dr. Brenner, a medical health care provider under La.R.S. 40:1299.47(B), because a complaint was not filed with the Medical Review Panel.

In a supplemental petition Roberson alleges that a catheter was inserted on April 20 and removed May 2, re-inserted May 7 and removed May 9, 1982. Roberson also alleged pain and mental anguish because Provident's employees failed to clean his room and eradicate roaches which crawled on his body. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance was substituted as insurer of Provident House and Western World Insurance was dismissed with prejudice.

TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE

Roberson's deposition was admitted in lieu of live testimony. La.C.C.P. art. 1450. Roberson stated he has been a quadriplegic after being shot during a robbery in 1972. He was in several Veterans Administration hospitals over the years including the hospital in New Orleans. He often lives with Marcelle and James Conner (his sister and her husband) but resides in a nursing home when they are unable to care for him.

Roberson stated that when he was in a nursing home only an external catheter was used. He testified that a Memphis V.A. doctor had warned not to insert a catheter into his bladder because it would cause bladder spasms and the inability to urinate.[1] Roberson said an external catheter never caused a problem. Doctors tried an internal catheter in the Memphis hospital years ago but he could not urinate.

Roberson stated he went to Provident House in March, 1982 and a lady questioned him about the kind of food he liked and his hobbies, but he was never questioned about a catheter or medical matters. He claimed that Provident House employees did not take proper care of his external catheter.

Roberson said no one consulted him about changing the external catheter to an indwelling Foley catheter. He said he told the nurse that he did not want the internal catheter and he begged her not to insert it. She told him to shut up when he warned her that he could not tolerate an internal catheter.

Roberson testified it took about two days before he experienced pain and a burning sensation after the indwelling catheter was *840 inserted and a nurse removed the catheter. Roberson tried to stop the nurse before it was re-inserted. Subsequently Roberson complained, the nurse got aggravated, jerked the catheter out, and blood ran from his penis. Roberson was rushed by ambulance to the V.A. hospital and remained there for a number of days. When he was returned to Provident House his sister removed him from the premises.

When asked by defense counsel whether he experienced an irritation of the penis at Provident House, Roberson stated he did not. When defense counsel continued to ask whether Roberson could see if his penis was irritated, Roberson clearly stated that he could feel an irritation and that he was not "stupid." Roberson said he did not have an infection while at Provident House or when he arrived at the V.A. hospital. The V.A. hospital record indicates there was no infection. Roberson stated that he still experiences a burning sensation (which he did not have prior to the "jerking" incident) while urinating and takes medication for the problem.

Roberson's sister, Marcelle Conner, testified she cared for her brother for many years except when she was in the hospital. She stated that prior to the subject incident at Provident House her brother's urine was clear. During the day he used a urinal and at night an outdwelling catheter. She emphatically stated her brother was not incontinent, never previously had urinary infections, and he could tell her when he needed the urinal.

Mrs. Conner stated she was contacted by telephone by a Provident House representative who informed her that a Foley catheter was to be inserted. She was very upset and told the nursing home representative: "Please don't do this thing." After Roberson was rushed to the V.A. hospital, she testified he stayed for eight or nine days.

Mrs. Conner said her brother does not urinate as well as in the past and he experiences a lot of pain. His urine has a dark color and he has urinary tract infections.[2] His output decreased from about 1200 c.c. to 150 c.c. daily. Although he had been able to sit in his wheelchair for hours, now his kidneys hurt and wheelchair time has been severely restricted. On cross-examination Mrs. Conner stated that an indwelling catheter had been tried years earlier at a V.A. hospital and the doctors told her never to let an indwelling catheter be used because it could be fatal.[3] Although she thought the V.A. hospital had sent written orders as to the use of a urinal and outdwelling catheter, Provident House records do not contain such instructions.

James Conner, Roberson's brother-in-law with his power of attorney, testified that he went with Roberson on his first day at Provident House. Roberson was taken by ambulance and Conner brought personal items including a pot chair, wheelchair, a lift to get Roberson out of bed, cotton pads, and a bag of 40 or 50 outdwelling catheters provided by the V.A. hospital.

The Provident House charts and medical records show Roberson was admitted March 15, 1982 and Dr. Joseph Brenner was his doctor. Dr. Brenner, internist, testified as to his relationship with Provident House and said its records did not contain written V.A. instructions in March, 1982. Roberson's health care plan dated March 17, 1982 provided that incontinence should be handled by:

a) External catheter

b) Assist to commode chair or

c) Diapers.

There is no mention of an internal catheter until an April 9, 1982 entry on the physician's order sheet which states: "Insert Foley (PRN)." Dr. Brenner testified that a nurse informed him that the external catheter was ineffective and irritation was occurring. No nurse testified. On April 9, 1982 Dr. Brenner told the nurse to insert *841 the catheter "PRN", i.e., as needed. He said his decision to use the internal catheter was based on the nurse's report, but the doctor conceded that he never spoke to Roberson about his medical history or asked him about prior use of catheters or prohibitions.

The nurse's entry for April 20, 1982 shows the Foley catheter was inserted. The April 23, 1982 nurse's summary reflects:

Incontinent of urine & feces. Ext. cath D/ced due to irritation & ineffective. Foley cath inserted....

A nurse's notation on April 30, 1982 (the numbers are almost illegible) provides:

Family called and stated that they wanted internal cath. taken out and who (almost illegible) gave the order to put in (almost illegible) an external cath. Family stated that they want the internal cath. taken out.

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Related

Sanders v. State
35 So. 3d 864 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2010)
Riley v. Maison Orleans II, Inc.
829 So. 2d 479 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2002)
Roberson v. Provident House
567 So. 2d 597 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
559 So. 2d 838, 1990 La. App. LEXIS 543, 1990 WL 27007, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roberson-v-provident-house-lactapp-1990.