Brown v. DeKalb Medical Center

Decision Date28 February 1997
Docket NumberNo. A96A2158,A96A2158
Citation482 S.E.2d 511,225 Ga.App. 4
Parties, 97 FCDR 1186 BROWN v. DeKALB MEDICAL CENTER.
CourtGeorgia Court of Appeals

James W. Howard, Atlanta, for appellant.

Sullivan, Hall, Booth & Smith, Timothy H. Bendin, Lyndy C. Stewart, Atlanta, for appellee.

BLACKBURN, Judge.

This medical malpractice claim by Natalie Brown, the executor of Christine Riley's estate, sought damages for injuries stemming from bedsores Ms. Riley allegedly suffered while a patient at DeKalb Medical's nursing home. The trial court directed a verdict in DeKalb's favor on the issue of punitive damages. After a jury returned a $165,000 verdict of compensatory damages for the estate, the court granted DeKalb a j.n.o.v. Riley's executor, Ms. Brown, appeals on behalf of the estate. "[I]n reviewing a [j.n.o.v.], an appellate court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the party who secured the jury verdict." Atlanta Obstetrics, etc., v. Coleman, 260 Ga. 569, 570, 398 S.E.2d 16 (1990).

In April 1992, Riley spent a month in DeKalb's "skilled nursing facility" after she suffered a stroke. On admission, she was noted to suffer from bedsores on her bottom. One day after she left the nursing home, according to Brown and to a home health care nurse who examined her, she exhibited "blood blisters" on the heels of her feet. Although the home health care nurse described these blisters as "intact" and stated they could have formed in a 24-hour period, Brown testified these sores were "open" and "bloody." Riley's expert witness, a nurse skilled in caring for and preventing pressure sores, stated that in her opinion, these sores formed while Riley was at DeKalb's nursing home. Some of the sores apparently healed, and Riley later developed other ulcerated sores on her left foot and lower left leg. In December 1992, a physician concluded that because of poor blood circulation in Riley's left leg, the ulcers, including a large ulcer on her left heel, were unlikely to heal; therefore, he amputated her left leg below the knee.

Riley's nursing expert testified as to measures which "could be taken to prevent [a patient] from developing pressure sores," including the use of a special mattress, elevation of the patient's feet, and turning the patient every two hours. She also stated the "general practice" is to inspect a patient's skin during each shift. The expert stated she was familiar with the standard of care applicable to nurses in nursing homes in preventing and treating pressure sores. Because Riley's medical records did not reflect that these measures had been consistently followed, the expert concluded, DeKalb Medical breached the standard of care in its duty to prevent and treat Riley's pressure sores.

1. We first address the trial court's direction of judgment for DeKalb on its liability to Riley. A grant of j.n.o.v. is allowed only where there is no conflict as to any material issue and the evidence introduced, including all reasonable deductions from that evidence, is such that only one reasonable conclusion may be drawn as to the proper judgment. Goggin v. Goldman, 209 Ga.App. 251, 252, 433 S.E.2d 85 (1993). "Where there is 'some evidence,' or 'any evidence' supporting the respondent's assertions, disputed issues are created which are for the jury's resolution." (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Jones v. Abel, 209 Ga.App. 889, 890, 434 S.E.2d 822 (1993). To support a claim for medical malpractice, Brown was required to show: 1) the nursing home breached a duty to Riley by failing to exercise the proper degree of skill and care and 2) the breach proximately caused injury to Riley. Hawkins v. Greenberg, 166 Ga.App. 574, 575, 304 S.E.2d 922 (1983).

The trial court properly directed judgment for DeKalb as to Brown's claim for damages resulting from the bedsore on her sacral area. She presented no evidence, other than mere speculation, showing this ulcer developed while Riley was in DeKalb's care. Her expert testified this ulcer became no worse during Riley's stay at DeKalb and, therefore, DeKalb had properly cared for that ulcer. Because Brown presented no evidence to rebut the presumption that DeKalb properly treated this problem, Ms. Riley's estate could not recover for this injury. See Slack v. Moorhead, 152 Ga.App. 68, 71, 262 S.E.2d 186 (1979) (presumption that medical professionals exercise due care).

But the evidence, however slim, did create a jury question as to whether DeKalb's professional negligence caused the pressure sores on Riley's left and right heels. Although the DeKalb nurses presented circumstantial evidence that they followed the routine measures needed to prevent these pressure sores, their evidence also indicates no pressure sores were documented when Riley was discharged from the hospital. Because Riley's expert was allowed to opine, without objection, that the pressure sores developed in the hospital, the probative value of the nurses' circumstantial evidence that Riley suffered no pressure sores was for the jury. See Thomas v. Newnan Hosp., 185 Ga.App. 764, 768, 365 S.E.2d 859 (1988) (testimony as to one's uniform and routine habit is circumstantial evidence that one complied with the habit on day in question). This conflicting evidence allowed the jury to infer the pressure sores on Riley's heels developed while she was in DeKalb's care.

Although Riley's expert did not use the magic words, "the standard of care requires," she did state, however unartfully, the parameters of the standard of care applicable to DeKalb's treatment and the method in which DeKalb deviated from that standard. See Jackson v. Gershon, 251 Ga. 577, 579, 308 S.E.2d 164 (1983); see also Messex v. Lynch, 255 Ga. 208, 336 S.E.2d 755 (1985). Riley's expert testified that patients with poor circulation such as Riley do not develop pressure sores if adequate nursing care is...

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4 cases
  • Gaines v. Comanche County Medical Hosp.
    • United States
    • Oklahoma Supreme Court
    • June 13, 2006
    ...years qualified to give testimony concerning bedsores. Left to jury to determine the weight of that evidence.]; Brown v. DeKalb Medical Center, 225 Ga.App. 4, 482 S.E.2d 511-12, cert. denied (1997) [In absence of any objection, nurse was qualified to testify as to cause of development of pr......
  • Kodadek v. Lieberman, A00A2550.
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • January 19, 2001
    ...Tri-County Investment Group v. Southern States, 231 Ga.App. 632, 638(4)(b), 500 S.E.2d 22 (1998). 12. See Brown v. DeKalb Med. Center, 225 Ga. App. 4, 7(2), 482 S.E.2d 511 (1997); Roseberry v. Brooks, 218 Ga.App. 202, 209-210(4), 461 S.E.2d 262 (1995). 13. Satterwhite v. State, 235 Ga.App. ......
  • Ehca Dunwoody, LLC. v. Daniel
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • February 28, 2006
    ...regarding Dr. Kemp impacted the verdict.23 Judgment affirmed. JOHNSON, P.J., and BARNES, J., concur. 1. Brown v. DeKalb Med. Center, 225 Ga.App. 4, 5(1), 482 S.E.2d 511 (1997). 2. See id. 3. See Aldworth Co. v. England, 276 Ga.App. 31, 37, 622 S.E.2d 367 (2005) ("`After the rendition of a v......
  • Petzelt v. Tewes, A02A2157.
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • March 28, 2003
    ...and punctuation omitted.) Lloyd v. Kramer, 233 Ga.App. 372, 373(1), 503 S.E.2d 632 (1998). 10. See Brown v. DeKalb Med. Center, 225 Ga. App. 4, 5(1), 482 S.E.2d 511 (1997). 11. See Stinson v. Artistic Pools, 236 Ga.App. 768, 769(2), 513 S.E.2d 510 (1999) ("`[r]eckless representation of fact......
2 books & journal articles
  • Commercial and Banking Law - Robert A. Weber, Jr.
    • United States
    • Mercer University School of Law Mercer Law Reviews No. 49-1, September 1997
    • Invalid date
    ...Brinson, 220 Ga. App. at 639, 469 S.E.2d at 538-39). 281. Id., 482 S.E.2d at 510-11. 282. 7d.,482 S.E.2dat511. 283. Id. 284. Id. at 3, 482 S.E.2d at 511. 285. Id. at 2-3, 482 S.E.2d at 511 (emphasis added) (quoting Brinson, 220 Ga. App. at 640, 469 S.E.2d at 539). 286. Id. at 3, 482 S.E.2d ......
  • Litigating Nursing Home Cases in Georgia
    • United States
    • State Bar of Georgia Georgia Bar Journal No. 8-2, October 2002
    • Invalid date
    ...206 Ga.App. 62, 65, 424 S.E.2d 632, 635 (1992)(discussion of liability of a hospital based on doctrine of respondeat superior). 45. 225 Ga. App. 4, 482 S.E.2d 511 46. 212 Ga. App at 768, 442 S.E.2d at 850. 47. See Moore v. Louis Smith Mem'l Hosp., Inc., 216 Ga. App. 299, 299-300, 454 S.E.2d......

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