University Medical Center v. Martin

994 So. 2d 740, 2008 WL 4879165
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 13, 2008
Docket2007-CA-00114-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 994 So. 2d 740 (University Medical Center v. Martin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
University Medical Center v. Martin, 994 So. 2d 740, 2008 WL 4879165 (Mich. 2008).

Opinion

994 So.2d 740 (2008)

The UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
v.
John Henry MARTIN, Individually and on Behalf of Wrongful Death Beneficiaries of Martha Martin, Yashica Good, Individually.

No. 2007-CA-00114-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

November 13, 2008.

*741 Joseph L. McNamara, Stephanie Case Edgar, Ridgeland, John Michael Coleman, attorneys for appellant.

*742 Dennis C. Sweet, III, Warren Louis Martin, Jackson, attorneys for appellees.

Before DIAZ, P.J., CARLSON and GRAVES, JJ.

GRAVES, Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. This is a wrongful death case involving the treatment of the decedent at defendant's medical facility following a car accident. The day after the decedent was discharged from the defendant's facility, she passed away. Plaintiffs brought suit against the medical providers. At the bench trial, plaintiffs presented a medical expert to testify to the defendant's liability. Following the trial, the trial court found in favor of the plaintiffs. Aggrieved by this judgment, defendant appeals to this Court.

FACTS

¶ 2. Martha Martin was injured in a car accident on September 29, 2001 in the early evening. She was taken to the University Medical Center ("UMC") for treatment, where she stayed until she was discharged at 4:00 a.m. on September 30, 2001. While at UMC, Ms. Martin was treated by attending Dr. Frederick Carlton and resident Dr. Lisa Anderson. Dr. Anderson performed a physical exam on Ms. Martin and ordered an EKG, chest x-ray, and CT scan for her.

¶ 3. Dr. Anderson testified that the physical exam and tests revealed nothing abnormal other than tenderness to the chest. Testimony from Ms. Martin's family, who stayed with her at the hospital, revealed that Ms. Martin complained of chest pain and shortness of breath throughout her time at UMC. Dr. Carlton and Dr. Anderson testified that Ms. Martin complained of chest pain and may have suffered from difficulty breathing, which is different from shortness of breath.

¶ 4. Ms. Martin was prescribed Motrin and Lortab for her chest pain, and when she was discharged, she was told to follow up with her private physician and to seek medical care immediately if she suffered any new symptoms. Ms. Martin's family members took her back to her home. The next day, while at home, Ms. Martin's husband, John Martin ("Martin"), discovered that she had stopped breathing. She was taken back to UMC, where she was pronounced dead. The cause of death was later determined to be pulmonary embolism (saddle type).

¶ 5. On September 24, 2002, Martin[1] filed a complaint, which alleged, in part, medical negligence against Dr. Carlton[2] and UMC. On October 31, 2002, UMC filed an answer, which denied the allegations of medical negligence. On April 27, 2004, UMC filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, in part because Martin had not yet designated an expert to testify to medical negligence. The trial court denied summary judgment, but granted UMC's motion for full disclosure of Martin's expert. On February 16, 2005, Martin disclosed that he would present Dr. William Truly, M.D. to testify as an expert in emergency and family medicine. Martin stated that Dr. Truly's opinions were based on Ms. Martin's medical records, well-known publications, and his medical experience.

*743 ¶ 6. A bench trial took place in this matter on April 12, 2005 and April 13, 2005. At trial, after Martin laid the foundation for Dr. Truly to testify as an expert in emergency medicine and family medicine, UMC conducted a voir dire of him. At the conclusion of the voir dire, UMC moved to exclude Dr. Truly's testimony as an expert in emergency medicine. After Martin's case was presented, UMC orally moved for the court to enter judgment in its favor. UMC argued that the court should exclude Dr. Truly's testimony, which would mean that Martin had not met his burden of proof. The trial court denied this motion and found in favor of Martin. UMC then timely filed a Motion to Alter or Amend the Judgment, which the trial court denied. UMC timely appealed.

ANALYSIS

¶ 7. UMC presents one issue on appeal, which this Court finds to be without merit.

I. Whether the Trial Court Erred by Accepting Dr. William Truly, M.D., as an Expert in Emergency Medicine and Relying on his Expert Testimony.

¶ 8. UMC argues that the trial court erred by accepting Dr. Truly as an expert in emergency medicine and that the trial court's decision should be reversed for "relying heavily" on Dr. Truly's testimony.

¶ 9. Dr. Truly's testimony shows, and his curriculum vitae confirms, that he attended Meharry Medical College in 1970 and completed an internship in 1971. He is a member of the Jackson Medical Society of Mississippi, the Mississippi Medical Surgical Society, and the National Medical Association. Dr. Truly testified that he graduated from medical school and began practicing in the private sector. Because he was already practicing, Dr. Truly qualified for an equivalent residency by fulfilling continuing medical education requirements, and was permitted to sit for the medical board examination for family medicine, which he passed in 1977. Dr. Truly testified that he has more than thirty-four years of experience in emergency and family medicine.

¶ 10. On voir dire, UMC showed that Dr. Truly had not worked in an emergency room since the late 1990s. However, Dr. Truly testified that he anticipated starting work at the Humphreys County Memorial Hospital as an emergency physician within a month of his testimony. Also, Dr. Truly testified that, as a family physician, he treats patients who have conditions that fall under the specialty of emergency medicine.

¶ 11. After the voir dire, the trial court determined that Dr. Truly was qualified to testify as an expert in emergency medicine, over UMC's objection. The trial court stated that:

The court has previously accepted in other trials this witness as an expert in the fields that he's been offered for today.... Dr. Truly is qualified based upon his education, his training and his qualifications, [and] he can testify as an expert in the field of general family medicine and emergency medicine.

¶ 12. Dr. Truly testified that he had experience treating patients with pulmonary embolism. He testified that, in his medical opinion, Ms. Martin's death was caused by the medical negligence of UMC physicians. Dr. Truly testified that, in his opinion, Ms. Martin had a pulmonary embolus when she was in the care of UMC and that UMC should have diagnosed it and treated it. Dr. Truly stated that he reviewed Ms. Martin's medical records, the autopsy report, and several medical articles *744 concerning pulmonary embolism in reaching his conclusion.

¶ 13. Dr. Truly testified about several known risk factors for pulmonary embolism, which include major trauma, obesity, hypertension, heavy cigarette smoking, shortness of breath, age, hereditary conditions, and recent surgery. Dr. Truly stated that, despite Ms. Martin's presentation to UMC as a trauma patient, the emergency physicians should still have suspected pulmonary embolism because of her risk factors—age, obesity, trauma, hypertension, and shortness of breath. Dr. Truly maintained that UMC should have diagnosed Ms. Martin's pulmonary embolus because of her risk factors, although he agreed that "a lot of pulmonary emboli are misdiagnosed and simply missed." He testified that the standard of care for a patient like Ms.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
994 So. 2d 740, 2008 WL 4879165, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/university-medical-center-v-martin-miss-2008.