Smith v. Hardy Wilson Mem'l Hosp.
Citation | 300 So.3d 991 |
Decision Date | 20 August 2020 |
Docket Number | NO. 2018-CA-01448-SCT,2018-CA-01448-SCT |
Parties | William H. "Skip" SMITH, Jr., Individually and on Behalf of the Wrongful Death Beneficiaries of Carolyn Smith, Deceased, and the Estate of Carolyn Smith v. HARDY WILSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL |
Court | United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi |
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANTS: WILLIAM C. GRIFFIN
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: GAYE NELL CURRIE, D. JASON CHILDRESS
BEFORE RANDOLPH, C.J., COLEMAN AND CHAMBERLIN, JJ.
CHAMBERLIN, JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:
¶1. The estate and wrongful-death beneficiaries of Carolyn Smith1 appeal the Copiah County Circuit Court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Hardy Wilson Memorial Hospital, now known as Copiah County Medical Center. The trial court found that the Smiths failed to produce sufficient evidence showing that Carolyn Smith's injuries or death were caused by any alleged negligence of Hardy Wilson's nursing staff. After review, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶2. On Friday, December 31, 2015, Carolyn Smith fell outside her home, injuring her shoulder and sustaining a small laceration above her right eye. Carolyn presented to Hardy Wilson Memorial Hospital's emergency department that day at 2:21 p.m. The nursing staff at Hardy Wilson recorded Carolyn's initial vital signs in preparation for the emergency-room physician, Dr. James Johnson, to evaluate Carolyn. Carolyn's initial vitals showed, among other things, a respiration rate of eighteen and an oxygen-saturation
rate of ninety-five. Carolyn's records show that Dr. Johnson had evaluated her and had issued orders by 2:55 p.m. Dr. Johnson ordered that Carolyn be administered four milligrams of Zofran and two milligrams of Dilaudid to relieve her pain. Dr. Johnson also ordered an X-ray and CT scan ; the X-ray showed that Carolyn had a broken shoulder, and the CT scan appeared normal.
¶3. After Dr. Johnson's assessment of Carolyn, he called and consulted with Dr. Todd Smith—Carolyn's son and an orthopedic specialist. Dr. Smith recommended that Dr. Johnson discharge Carolyn and that she follow up with an orthopedic specialist in Jackson, Mississippi, the following Monday. At approximately 4:30 p.m., Dr. Johnson made the decision to discharge Carolyn. Shortly after Dr. Johnson had ordered the discharge, Carolyn complained of increased pain. As a result, Dr. Johnson ordered that Carolyn be administered two milligrams of Ativan
and two more milligrams of Dilaudid. Pursuant to Dr. Johnson's orders, the nurses began to administer the medication at around 4:45 p.m. while rechecking Carolyn's vital signs. The nurse recorded Carolyn's vital signs, which showed, among other things, a respiration rate of twelve and an oxygen-saturation rate of eighty-two. Because the monitor obtaining the vital-sign readings had the potential to give false readings, the nurse made sure that Carolyn was properly situated and took an additional reading to ensure the readings were accurate.
¶4. At around 5:10 p.m. or 5:20 p.m., the nursing staff began to administer oxygen to Carolyn to stabilize her oxygen levels. At the same time, a member of the nursing staff informed Dr. Johnson of Carolyn's worsening vital signs. Dr. Johnson instructed the nurse to check the vital signs again to ensure they were accurate due to potentially false readings from the monitor. The nurse checked Carolyn's vital signs again, confirmed that they were accurate and informed Dr. Johnson of Carolyn's confirmed vital signs.
¶5. Despite the information that the nurse provided, Dr. Johnson maintained his earlier decision to discharge Carolyn and sent her home at approximately 5:30 p.m. At discharge, members of the nursing staff assisted Carolyn into the vehicle that her husband was driving. In an answer to an interrogatory, Carolyn's husband averred that at some point after Dr. Johnson's decision to discharge Carolyn, "one or both of the nurses at the Hospital said something to the effect that they did not agree with Dr. Johnson's decision to discharge Carolyn when he did."2 When Carolyn was placed into the vehicle, she was asleep, and the nurses explained to Carolyn's husband that he may have a hard time waking her up. Carolyn's husband drove to the pharmacy to have her prescriptions filled and then continued home. Carolyn was still sleeping when she and her husband arrived at their home. As a result, Carolyn's husband remained in the vehicle with her anticipating that she would eventually wake up. But instead of waking up, Carolyn stopped breathing, and an emergency call was placed for an ambulance. Approximately five hours after being discharged, the ambulance transported Carolyn back to Hardy Wilson. Carolyn was pronounced dead on arrival at Hardy Wilson.
¶6. On June 20, 2016, the Smiths filed suit against several of Carolyn's medical providers, including Hardy Wilson. As part of its claim against Hardy Wilson, the Smiths alleged that Hardy Wilson's negligence, by and through its nursing staff, caused or contributed to Carolyn's death. On July 20, 2016, Hardy Wilson answered, denying fault and asserting that the complaint failed to state a cause of action against Hardy Wilson. Hardy Wilson propounded interrogatories and received responses on October 4, 2016.
¶7. On August 20, 2018, more than two years after the complaint was filed, Hardy Wilson moved for summary judgment. Hardy Wilson argued, among other things, that "[p]laintiffs have failed to designate any expert testimony that any member of the nursing or other nonmedical staff was negligent in their care and treatment of Carolyn Smith and that such negligence caused or contributed to her death." Citing Vicksburg Healthcare, LLC v. Dees , 152 So. 3d 1171, 1173 (Miss. 2014), Hardy Wilson contended that "[w]ithout such expert testimony, any such claim fails as a matter of law."
and Ativan together, and with the no apparent effect of oxygen therapy on her, and particularly with her deteriorating medical condition.
....
Nurses are trained to know and should know the side effects or adverse reactions with administering Dilaudid alone, and especially accompanied by Ativan, include sedation and respiratory depression, and Carolyn Smith experienced both of these effects. Her resulting medical condition after medication clearly showed she should not have been discharged when she was discharged and in her condition when discharged, and the nurses in the ED at Hardy Wilson on December 31, 2015, providing care to her knew or should have known this.
The attending nurses who participated in Carolyn Smith's discharge, particularly including Joyce Schimmel, who reported the final vital signs of Carolyn Smith's deteriorated condition, should have considered the objective vital signs and taken affirmative action for Carolyn Smith to be kept in the emergency room with continuous monitoring, rather than being discharged, despite physician orders. If there was any problem whatsoever in retaining Carolyn Smith with continuous monitoring in the ED, based on her taken and recorded vital signs, the attending nurses, again particularly including Joyce Schimmel, should have sought supervisory authority and/or consultation from another physician, such as a physician on-call.
....
, or even respiratory arrest or cardiac arrest could have been addressed and treated immediately in the hospital.
level, and by failing to take corrective action to address her deteriorated medical condition and altered mental state as shown by the...
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