Thibodeaux v. Lafayette General Surgical Hospital, LLC

38 So. 3d 544, 9 La.App. 3 Cir. 1523, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 627, 2010 WL 1779975
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 5, 2010
DocketNo. 09-1523
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 38 So. 3d 544 (Thibodeaux v. Lafayette General Surgical Hospital, LLC) 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
Thibodeaux v. Lafayette General Surgical Hospital, LLC, 38 So. 3d 544, 9 La.App. 3 Cir. 1523, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 627, 2010 WL 1779975 (La. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

SAUNDERS, Judge.

|, This is a medical malpractice case wherein the plaintiffs, wife and husband, brought their claims against a hospital. The wife underwent an initial surgery, had complications, then underwent a second surgery on the same day to attempt to alleviate those complications. The plaintiffs claim that they suffered damages from a jarring transfer of the wife from the surgical table to a gurney following her initial surgery and that the recovery room nursing staffs delay in notifying the surgeon of complications in the wife’s initial surgery led her to have permanent Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

The plaintiffs filed a complaint with the Louisiana Patient’s Compensation Fund, and a medical review panel was formed. According to the unanimous opinion of the medical review panel, the hospital, through its nurses, did not breach the standard of care that it owed to the plaintiffs. Further, one of the members of the review panel opined that the wife’s outcome re-[546]*546suited from the complications that occurred in the initial surgery and not from any action or inaction by the hospital nursing staff.

The plaintiffs then filed suit against the hospital for medical malpractice. The hospital filed a motion for summary judgment based on what it alleged was the plaintiffs’ lack of evidence that the hospital had breached the standard of care it owed to the plaintiffs and on the plaintiffs’ lack of evidence that any breach was causally linked to the damages suffered by them. The trial court, without written reasons, granted the summary judgment. The plaintiffs appeal. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY:

On July 5, 2006, Shirline Thibodeaux (Ms. Thibodeaux) was admitted to Lafayette General Surgical Hospital, LLC (LGSH) for an elective surgical procedure, |2an anterior cervical discectomy at the C5-6 and C6-7 levels of the spine. The surgery was an attempt to relieve neck pain, left arm pain, and weakness in her left arm and hand. The surgery was performed by Dr. Ilyas Munshi, a neurosurgeon.

Following her surgery, Ms. Thibodeaux was transferred from the surgical table to a gurney to be taken to the recovery room, then to a room located on the floor of the hospital. According to Ms. Thibodeaux, when she was transferred from the surgical table to the gurney she felt a jar and significant pain. Ms. Thibodeaux contended that she notified hospital personnel immediately of this pain and that she was administered pain medication in the recovery room.

Ms. Thibodeaux’s medical records indicate that she began showing signs of complications in the form of inability to move her left arm and hand and significant weakness in the grip of her left hand while in her hospital room. The floor nurse contacted Dr. Munshi and reported those complications to him. He later performed a second surgery to in an attempt to correct these complications. Unfortunately, these complications resulted in Ms. Thibo-deaux having permanent CRPS.

According to Ms. Thibodeaux, LGSH’s recovery room nurses were aware of her significant pain and were negligent in failing to notify Dr: Munshi in a timely fashion. Further, according to Ms. Thibo-deaux, the jarring from her transfer from the surgical table to a gurney caused the complications, and the recovery room nurses’ delay in notifying Dr. Munshi resulted in a loss of chance for successful recovery from those complications and a loss of consortium on behalf of her husband, Larry Thibodeaux.

On January 2, 2007, Ms. Thibodeaux and Larry Thibodeaux (the Thibodeauxs) filed a complaint with the Louisiana Patient’s Compensation Fund. After going | ^through the medical review process, the medical review panel reached a unanimous opinion that LGSH had not breached the standard of care it owed to the Thibodeauxs.

On February 25, 2009, the Thibodeauxs filed suit against LGSH for medical malpractice. After some discovery was conducted, LGSH filed a motion for summary judgment. LGSH based its motion on its contention that the Thibodeauxs could not carry their burden to prove at trial that a breach of the applicable standard of care occurred or that there was a causal link between the Thibodeauxs’ alleged damages and any alleged deviation from the applicable standard of care. The trial court granted LGSH’s motion without written reasons. The Thibodeauxs timely filed this appeal alleging the following assignments of error:

[547]*547ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR:

1. The trial court erred in accepting as true the facts set forth in the LGSH’s motion for summary judgment and gave no weight whatsoever to the affidavit of Ms. Thibodeaux or Dr. Munshi’s deposition testimony-
2. The trial court erred in concluding that there was no evidence of a change in Ms. Thibodeaux’s outcome despite Dr. Munshi’s deposition testimony entered into the record.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBERS ONE AND TWO:

In their first assignment of error, the Thibodeauxs allege that the trial court erred in accepting as true the facts set forth in the LGSH’s motion for summary judgment and giving no weight whatsoever to the affidavit of Ms. Thibodeaux or Dr. Munshi’s deposition testimony. In their second assignment of error, the Thi-bodeauxs alleged that the trial court erred in concluding that there was no evidence of a change in Ms. Thibodeaux’s outcome despite Dr. Munshi’s deposition testimony entered into the record. Given that both assignments of error are directed towards the trial court granting a motion for summary judgment and the appropriate standard of review 14applicable to a motion for summary judgment, we will address whether the trial court properly granted LGSH’s motion for summary judgment under- one heading.

Summary judgments are subject to a de novo review. Covington v. McNeese State Univ., 08-505 (La.App. 3 Cir. 11/5/08), 996 So.2d 667, writ denied, 09-69 (La.3/6/09), 3 So.3d 491. “The summary judgment procedure is designed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action.... The procedure is favored and shall be construed to accomplish these ends.” La.Code Civ.P. art. 966(A)(2). A motion for summary judgment “shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact, and that mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” La.Code Civ.P. art. 966(B).

The burden of proof remains with the movant. However, if the movant will not bear the burden of proof at trial on the matter that is before the court on the motion for summary judgment, the movant’s burden on the motion does not require him to negate all essential elements of the adverse party’s claim, action, or defense, but rather to point out to the court that there is an absence of factual support for one or more elements essential to the adverse party’s claim, action, or defense. Thereafter, if the adverse party fails to produce factual support sufficient to establish that he will be able to satisfy his evidentiary burden of proof at trial, there is no genuine issue of material fact.

La.Code Civ.P. art. 966(C)(2).

In this case, the Thibodeauxs filed suit against LGSH, alleging that through its nurses and employees, LGSH’s actions were negligent and fell below the standard of care and those actions caused damage to them. The Thibodeauxs have the burden to prove these allegations at trial. See Smith v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Obey Financial Group, Inc. v. Toria B. King
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2021
Loucious v. Crest Industries
181 So. 3d 956 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
Isaiah Loucious v. Crest Industries
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015
Hunter v. Lafayette Consolidated Government
177 So. 3d 815 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
Estate of Shelvin v. Neustrom
179 So. 3d 707 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
Doucet v. Alleman
169 So. 3d 824 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
Kim Doucet, Et Ux. v. Keith Alleman
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015
Guilbeau v. Domingues
149 So. 3d 825 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
Matt v. Dual Trucking, Inc.
139 So. 3d 1210 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
Jody Matt v. Dual Trucking, Inc.
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014
Ten Ky v. Gob Construction, Inc.
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014
Barton v. Avoyelles Parish School Board
153 So. 3d 448 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
Thibodeaux v. State ex rel. Department of Transportation & Development
142 So. 3d 1011 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
Wendy Thibodeaux v. State of La., Dotd
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014
XXI Oil & Gas, LLC v. Hilcorp Energy Co.
124 So. 3d 530 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
38 So. 3d 544, 9 La.App. 3 Cir. 1523, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 627, 2010 WL 1779975, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thibodeaux-v-lafayette-general-surgical-hospital-llc-lactapp-2010.