Soileau v. Med-Express Ambulance Service, Inc.

856 So. 2d 92, 3 La.App. 3 Cir. 0351, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 2632, 2003 WL 22244915
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 1, 2003
DocketNo. 03-351
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 856 So. 2d 92 (Soileau v. Med-Express Ambulance Service, Inc.) 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
Soileau v. Med-Express Ambulance Service, Inc., 856 So. 2d 92, 3 La.App. 3 Cir. 0351, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 2632, 2003 WL 22244915 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

| .MICHAEL G. SULLIVAN, Judge.

Harward Soileau and his children, Sheila Soileau Corbin, Phyllis Soileau Dodson, and Montie Soileau, appeal the judgment of the trial court which dismissed their medical malpractice claims against Dr. Robert T. Casanova, Casanova Eye Care, and Med-Express Ambulance Service, Inc. (Med-Express) for the wrongful death of Vivian Soileau, their wife and mother. For the following reasons, we affirm.

Facts

On February 8, 1998, Mrs. Soileau went to Dr. Casanova’s office to have a fluores-cein angiogram performed on her left eye. Tragically, she had an adverse reaction to the fluorescein dye used for the test. Attempts by Dr. Casanova and Med-Express to revive Mrs. Soileau were unsuccessful, and she died. Her husband and children filed this lawsuit, alleging that she died as a result of malpractice on the part of the defendants. They also alleged that Dr. Casanova did not properly inform her of the risks associated with the test and did not have her consent to perform the test.

Mrs. Soileau first saw Dr. Casanova on April 8, 1997. At that time, she complained of dry eyes and a black spot moving in one of her eyes, and that her glasses kept slipping on her nose. Prior to examining Mrs. Soileau, Dr. Casanova obtained a medical history from her, which included allergies and asthma. Mrs. Soileau’s vision at that time was 20/20 with glasses. After examining Mrs. Soileau, Dr. Casanova diagnosed her as having early cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. He also suspected that she was developing glaucoma. In July 1997, Mrs. Soileau returned to Dr. Casanova, complaining of seeing a black spot in her left eye for seven days. Examination on that date revealed that she had a peripheral retinal detachment in her left eye. Dr. Casanova referred her to Dr. J. Culotta for repair of the detached retina. She underwent three surgeries by |¡>Dr. Culotta. As a result, she was legally blind in her left eye because the lens in that eye had been removed during surgery.

On January 27, 1998, Mrs. Soileau returned to Dr. Casanova, complaining of blurry vision in her left eye. Attempts to improve the vision with glasses were unsuccessful. Dr. Casanova suspected that her poor vision was the result of swelling of the macula, the area of the eye that provides our real fine vision. During this visit, he performed three tests to see if the macula was swollen. However, the tests did not reveal any swelling of the macula or any other cause of Mrs. Soileau’s poor vision. Dr. Casanova explained to Mrs. Soileau that there may have been swelling or another abnormality not revealed by the tests he performed that day that a fluores-cein angiogram would show.

Mrs. Soileau had a follow-up appointment scheduled with Dr. Culotta a few months later, and she told Dr. Casanova that she would discuss the possibility of the additional test with him at that time. Yet, two days later she called Dr. Casanova with continued complaints. After that conversation, Dr. Casanova contacted Dr. Culotta regarding the fluorescein angio-gram, and he agreed that the test was appropriate for Mrs. Soileau. Dr. Casanova gave Mrs. Soileau the option of having him or Dr. Culotta perform the test. She [95]*95indicated that she wanted him to do it, and she returned to his office February 3, 1998 for that purpose.

In preparation for the angiogram, Dr. Casanova’s nurse, Patricia Hardy, explained the procedure and obtained Mrs. Soileau’s consent to perform it. Nurse Hardy testified that she read the consent form “word for word” to Mrs. Soileau until she reached the portion of the form which refers to adverse reactions, at which time she verbally explained that the most common symptoms of such reactions are nausea, | .¡vomiting, and itching. She then explained to Mrs. Soileau that very rarely a patient may have a severe adverse reaction which can lead to death. Before Mrs. Soileau signed the consent form, Dr. Casanova came to the procedure room and asked her if she had any questions regarding the test. She did not ask any questions and signed the consent form.

Nurse Hardy then began the angiogram. She testified that, when she injected the dye into the intravenous line in Mrs. Soi-leau’s right hand, she did not see anything unusual happen. After she finished injecting the dye, she placed Mrs. Soileau’s chin on the angiogram machine and prepared to take photographs of her eye. Mrs. Soileau started slightly coughing. At that time, Nurse Hardy told her to sit back. As she sat back in the chair, Mrs. Soileau asked for her asthma inhaler, which Nurse Hardy handed to her. Nurse Hardy summoned Dr. Casanova, who immediately administered oxygen, but Mrs. Soileau’s breathing worsened. His staff called 911 and the hospital. Dr. Casanova then administered Benadryl and Epinephrine, but Mrs. Soileau did not respond. Instead,she continued to worsen and quit breathing. Dr. Casanova began administering CPR and continued his efforts until Med-Express personnel arrived and relieved him. Their efforts were unsuccessful, and Mrs. Soileau died.

Mrs. Soileau’s family had an autopsy performed. Dr. Emil Laga, the pathologist who performed the autopsy, testified that Mrs. Soileau died due to an acute deprivation of oxygen to her body and that there was an acute and diffused, asthma-like reaction in her lower airways. He described the reaction as an anaphylaxis and testified that Mrs. Soileau’s lower airways were almost 100% blocked by “slimy materials.”

14As previously noted, Mrs. Soileau had a history of allergies and asthma. Dr. Bernard Fruge, her treating physician for these conditions, testified that when he first saw her, she related a history of allergies and asthma for fifteen years. On her first visit with him in 1996, her lung function was restricted but not obstructed as a result of these conditions. She last saw him in October 1997 at which time her lung function had improved to normal, and she was asymptomatic. He testified that the autopsy findings on her were consistent with anaphylactic reaction. In his opinion, Mrs. Soileau experienced a fatal bronchial spasm, which caused mucus to plug her lower airways. This, together with inflammation, prevented her from ventilating. He further testified that Mrs. Soileau’s history of allergies and asthma was not a contraindication for the angio-gram, explaining that there was no predictor of a person’s response to fluorescein dye, if they, had never received it before. However, he agreed that her reaction was more severe than what .the general population’s response would be because her lower airways were more restrictive.

Prior to trial, the Soileaus filed a motion in limine to exclude the testimony of Nurse Hardy and Dr. Casanova regarding the verbal warnings that Nurse Hardy gave to Mrs. Soileau before the fluorescein dye [96]*96was injected. As reflected above, the trial court denied the motion, and they were allowed to testify that it was Nurse Hardy’s standard practice to supplement the written consent form with a verbal warning, as she did in this case.

The matter was tried to a jury for four days. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury found no malpractice on the part of the defendants and did not award damages to the Soileaus. On appeal, the Soileaus assign as error the trial court’s admission of Dr. Casanova’s and Nurse Hardy’s testimony to modify the terms of the written | ^consent form. They also assign as error the jury’s finding that Mrs. Soileau’s consent to the angiogram was informed and the jury’s failure to award damages.

Nurse Hardy’s Verbal Warnings

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Bluebook (online)
856 So. 2d 92, 3 La.App. 3 Cir. 0351, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 2632, 2003 WL 22244915, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/soileau-v-med-express-ambulance-service-inc-lactapp-2003.