Wood v. Humphries

103 So. 3d 1105, 2011 La.App. 1 Cir. 2161, 2012 WL 4813813, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 1276
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 9, 2012
DocketNo. 2011 CA 2161
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 103 So. 3d 1105 (Wood v. Humphries) 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
Wood v. Humphries, 103 So. 3d 1105, 2011 La.App. 1 Cir. 2161, 2012 WL 4813813, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 1276 (La. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinions

PARRO, J.

|2In this medical malpractice case, the appellants, Dr. Shawn Humphries and the Louisiana Patient’s Compensation Fund and Louisiana Patient’s Compensation Fund Oversight Board (collectively, the Board), through the defendants, Dr. Hum-phries and Lady of the Sea General Hospital, appeal the trial court’s entry of a judgment notwithstanding the jury’s verdict and its conditional grant of a motion for a new trial in favor of the plaintiffs, Duane and Torrie Wood. For the following reasons, we reverse that judgment and reinstate the jury’s verdict, together with the judgment of April 13, 2011, rendered in accordance with the jury’s verdict.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Duane and Torrie Wood filed a petition against Dr. Shawn Humphries and Lady of the Sea General Hospital (LOSGH), located in Lafourche Parish, alleging that they breached the applicable standard of care in their emergency room treatment of Mr. Wood on March 30, 2005, resulting in serious and permanent damage to him as the result of a major stroke. After extensive discovery, the case was tried to a jury on March 30 and 31, 2011, and April 1, 4, and 5, 2011. The first question on the special jury interrogatories asked whether the jury found, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the plaintiffs had proved the standard of care applicable to Dr. Hum-phries and LOSGH regarding the medical care provided to Mr. Wood. The jury response as to both defendants was “No.” On April 13, 2011, the court signed a judgment in accordance with the jury verdict, dismissing the suit with prejudice.

The plaintiffs filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) and a motion for a new trial. After a hearing on May 31, 2011, the court granted the motion for JNOV and rendered judgment in favor of Mr. Wood in the amount of $5,580,675 and in favor of Mrs. Wood for $150,000, plus judicial interest on both awards from November 3, 2005, until paid, and all court costs. The judgment also ordered the defendants to pay expert fees in the amount of $12,000. The court allocated 90% fault to Dr. Humphries and 10% fault to LOSGH. To comply with the | ^medical malpractice cap on damages in LSA-R.S. 40:1299.42(B)(1), the total amount of damages awarded was reduced to $500,000, plus legal interest and costs, exclusive of future medical care and related benefits, as provided in LSA-R.S. 40:1299.43. The motion for new trial was also conditionally granted in favor of the plaintiffs, in accordance with LSA-C.C.P. art. 1811(C)(1) and (2), for the same reasons that supported the trial court’s grant of the JNOV. The judgment was signed June 20, 2011.

The Board became involved in the appeal as a matter of law, because the court had granted the JNOV and awarded damages above the statutory cap of $100,000 for qualified health care providers, as provided in LSA-R.S. 40:1299.42(B)(2). The plaintiffs dismissed their claims against LOSGH with full reservation of their claims against the Board.1 Dr. Humphries and the Board filed suspensive appeals of the judgment.

The Board assigns as error the trial court’s reversal of the jury’s verdict and granting of the JNOV, based on the court’s allegedly faulty interpretation of the Medical Malpractice Act and LSA-C.C.P. art. [1109]*11091811, and the court’s award of damages. Dr. Humphries assigns as error the trial court’s granting of the JNOV, claiming the evidence introduced by the plaintiffs through their experts regarding the applicable standard of care was contradicted by the defendants’ experts, making the jury’s verdict a reasonable one. She also assigns as error the trial court’s failure to give great deference to the jury’s conclusion and its conditional grant of a new trial.

ANALYSIS

The plaintiffs’ burden in a medical malpractice case against a physician is to prove by a preponderance of the evidence the three elements set forth in LSA-R.S. 9:2794(A), which states, in pertinent part:

A.In a malpractice action based on the negligence of a physician licensed under R.S. 37:1261 et seq., ... the plaintiff shall have the burden of proving:
(1) The degree of knowledge or skill possessed or the degree of care ordinarily exercised by physicians ... licensed to practice in the state of Louisiana and actively practicing in a similar community or locale and under similar circumstances; and where the defendant practices in a ^particular specialty and where the alleged acts of medical negligence raise issues peculiar to the particular medical specialty involved, then the plaintiff has the burden of proving the degree of care ordinarily practiced by physicians ... within the involved medical specialty.
(2) That the defendant either lacked this degree of knowledge or skill or failed to use reasonable care and diligence, along with his best judgment in the application of that skill.
(3) That as a proximate result of this lack of knowledge or skill or the failure to exercise this degree of care the plaintiff suffered injuries that would not otherwise have been incurred.

These elements can be summarized in the context of this case as requiring Mr. and Mrs. Wood to prove: (1) the standard of care applicable to Dr. Humphries in her practice as an emergency room physician; (2) Dr. Humphries’ breach of that standard of care; and (3) the causal relationship between that breach and the injuries sustained by Mr. and Mrs. Wood. The jury verdict in this case was that the plaintiffs failed to prove the standard of care applicable to Dr. Humphries. Obviously, if that standard of care is not known, it is impossible to determine whether it was breached. Therefore, the jury’s answer to this question required the court to enter judgment dismissing the plaintiffs’ case.

Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict

A JNOV is a procedural device authorized by LSA-C.C.P. art. 1811, by which the trial court may modify the jury’s findings to correct an erroneous jury verdict. Article 1811 states, in pertinent part:

A. (1) Not later than seven days, exclusive of legal holidays, after the clerk has mailed or the sheriff has served the notice of judgment under Article 1913, a party may move for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict.
(2) A motion for a new trial may be joined with this motion, or a new trial may be prayed for in the alternative.
B. If a verdict was returned the court may allow the judgment to stand or may reopen the judgment and either order a new trial or render a judgment notwithstanding the verdict.
C. (1) If the motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict is granted, the court shall also rule on the motion for a new trial, if any, by determining whether it should be granted if the judgment is thereafter vacated or reversed [1110]*1110and shall specify the grounds for granting or denying the motion for a new trial. If the motion for a new trial is thus ^conditionally granted, the order thereon does not affect the finality of the judgment.
(2) If the motion for a new trial has been conditionally granted and the judgment is reversed on appeal, the new trial shall proceed unless the appellate court orders otherwise.

Article 1811 does not set out the criteria to be used when deciding a motion for JNOV.

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

Related

State of Louisiana in the Interest of E.J.W
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2025
Spann v. Gerry Lane Enters., Inc.
256 So. 3d 1016 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2018)
Myles v. Hosp. Serv. Dist. No. 1 of Tangipahoa Parish
248 So. 3d 545 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2018)
Brown v. Breaux Bridge Ventures, LLC
239 So. 3d 319 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2018)
Pitts v. Louisiana Medical Mutual Insurance Co.
197 So. 3d 221 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
Bourg v. Cajun Cutters, Inc.
174 So. 3d 56 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
Granger v. United Home Health Care
145 So. 3d 1071 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
Cobb v. Mitchell
121 So. 3d 692 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
103 So. 3d 1105, 2011 La.App. 1 Cir. 2161, 2012 WL 4813813, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 1276, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wood-v-humphries-lactapp-2012.