Arbogast v. Mid-Ohio Valley Medical Corp.
| Decision Date | 31 October 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 31314.,31314. |
| Citation | 589 S.E.2d 498,214 W.Va. 356 |
| Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
| Parties | Rebecca M. ARBOGAST and Kevin Mark Arbogast, Plaintiffs Below, Appellees, v. MID-OHIO VALLEY MEDICAL CORP., a Corporation, d/b/a Mid-Ohio Valley Urgent Care, Defendant Below, Appellant. |
Dissenting Opinion of Justice McGraw December 3, 2003.
Stephen R. Brooks, Carol Ann Marunich, Flaherty, Sensabaugh & Bonasso, Morgantown, for Appellant.
William A. Davis, Nicole DiCuccio, Butler, Cincione & DiCuccio, Columbus, OH, Theodore Davitian, Davitian & Davitian, Parkersburg, for Appellees.
Mid-Ohio Valley Medical Corp., d/b/a Mid-Ohio Valley Urgent Care (hereinafter referred to as "Mid-Ohio"), appellant/defendant below, appeals from a ruling by the Circuit Court of Wood County granting Rebecca M. Arbogast and Kevin Mark Arbogast (hereinafter referred to as "the Arbogasts") appellees/plaintiffs below, judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability and a new trial on the issue of damages. Here, Mid-Ohio contends that the circuit court committed error by setting aside the jury's verdict, which jury verdict found Mid-Ohio was not liable for harm alleged by the Arbogasts. After a careful review of the briefs and record, as well as considering the oral arguments by counsel for the parties, we reverse.
On March 26, 1996, Rebecca Arbogast went to Mid-Ohio for an evaluation and treatment of respiratory problems. During the evaluation, blood was drawn from Mrs. Arbogast's left arm by Tina Dunn, a laboratory technician employed by Mid-Ohio. The blood was extracted for the purpose of performing a complete blood count. When the evaluation was completed Mrs. Arbogast went home.
On April 1, 1996, Mrs. Arbogast returned to Mid-Ohio complaining of a bruise, pain, and numbness in her left hand. Mrs. Arbogast was seen by Dr. Allen Figueroa, who provided a diagnosis of "hematoma of the left arm."1 Dr. Figueroa prescribed Advil for the pain. He instructed Mrs. Arbogast to apply heat to the arm, keep it elevated, and wear a sling.
Mrs. Arbogast returned to Mid-Ohio on April 8, 1996, as a result of continued pain and numbness in her left arm and hand. She was again seen by Dr. Figueroa. He noted the continued presence of hematoma on the left arm. Dr. Figueroa decided to refer Mrs. Arbogast to Dr. Yale D. Conley, a vascular surgeon, because he "was concerned that she could have some significant vascular injury."
On April 9, 1996, Mrs. Arbogast visited the medical office of Dr. Conley. In his medical notes concerning the visit, Dr. Conley wrote that Mrs. Arbogast was "experiencing pain from th[e] needle stick and maybe a small hematoma with some pressure on the nerve." Dr. Conley arranged for Mrs. Arbogast to have EMGs and nerve conduction studies on her left hand. In his follow-up medical notes dated April 24, 1996, Dr. Conley wrote:
As a result of continued pain, on July 12, 1996, Mrs. Arbogast went to the medical office of Dr. Gregg M. O'Malley, an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. O'Malley's medical notes from the visit ruled out signs of early or late complex regional pain syndrome (hereinafter referred to as "CRPS").2 The notes also indicated that "[a]ll of her muscles in the forearm and hand function normally." Dr. O'Malley was unable to definitively diagnose the cause of Mrs. Arbogast's pain. He believed it might be attributed to carpal tunnel syndrome. On August 9, 1996, Mrs. Arbogast went again to Dr. O'Malley's office. Dr. O'Malley recommended surgery for nerve release at the left forearm level and carpal tunnel release on the left wrist. The surgery was performed on August 21, 1996.
Mrs. Arbogast continued to experience pain and numbness in her left arm and hand after the surgery. During a follow-up visit with Dr. O'Malley on March 7, 1997, he observed that Mrs. Arbogast's left arm was purplish and cold. Dr. O'Malley indicated that this might be an early sign of CRPS. Dr. O'Malley recommended treatment at a pain clinic.
On July 29, 1997, Mrs. Arbogast visited the medical office of Dr. James Powers. Mrs. Arbogast was referred to Dr. Powers by her counsel, in order "to come to some conclusions as to her problem, to make suggestions as far as treatment, and also to look at prognosis." Dr. Powers diagnosed Mrs. Arbogast as suffering from CRPS.
On March 20, 1998, Mrs. Arbogast and her spouse, Kevin Mark Arbogast, filed the instant action against Mid-Ohio, alleging negligence in the drawing of her blood which negligence was the proximate cause of her developing CRPS.3 The case eventually went to trial in April of 2002. The jury returned a verdict for the defendant. The Arbogasts filed post-verdict motions for judgment as a matter of law or new trial. The circuit court granted the Arbogasts' motion for judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability. The circuit court also granted a new trial on the issue of damages. Thereafter, Mid-Ohio filed this appeal.
In this proceeding, we are asked to review the circuit court's order granting a post-verdict motion for judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability, and a new trial on the issue of damages. In Syllabus point 3 of Brannon v. Riffle, 197 W.Va. 97, 475 S.E.2d 97 (1996), we stated:
The appellate standard of review for the granting of a motion for a [judgment as a matter of law] pursuant to Rule 50 of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure is de novo. On appeal, this court, after considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant party, will sustain the granting of a [judgment as a matter of law] when only one reasonable conclusion as to the verdict can be reached. But if reasonable minds could differ as to the importance and sufficiency of the evidence, a circuit court's ruling granting a [judgment as a matter of law] will be reversed.
We explained this standard in syllabus point 3 of Alkire v. First National Bank, 197 W.Va. 122, 475 S.E.2d 122 (1996), in part, by holding that "[w]hile a review of this motion is plenary, it is also circumscribed because we must review the evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party." Moreover, in syllabus point 5 of Orr v. Crowder, 173 W.Va. 335, 315 S.E.2d 593 (1983), we indicated, in part, that in our review we must "[1] assume that all conflicts in the evidence were resolved by the jury in favor of the prevailing party; [2] assume as proved all facts which the prevailing party's evidence tends to prove; and [3] give to the prevailing party the benefit of all favorable inferences which reasonably may be drawn from the facts proved." Further, in syllabus point 2 of Alkire v. First National Bank, 197 W.Va. 122, 475 S.E.2d 122 (1996), we held, in part, that:
In reviewing a trial court's granting of a motion for [judgment as a matter of law], it is not the task of the appellate court reviewing facts to determine how it would have ruled on the evidence presented. Its task is to determine whether the evidence was such that a reasonable trier of fact might have reached the decision below.
With due consideration for the foregoing standards, we now consider the substantive issues raised.
To reach its verdict, the jury had to determine that Mid-Ohio did not breach the applicable standard of care and therefore was not liable. Alternatively, to reach its verdict, the jury had to determine that Mid-Ohio breached the applicable standard of care; but, that such breach was not the proximate cause of Mrs. Arbogast's injury.4 The circuit court rejected the jury's verdict. The circuit court concluded that the evidence established that Mid-Ohio did in fact negligently breach the applicable standard of care and that such negligence was the proximate cause of Mrs. Arbogast's injury. In Syllabus point 5 of Hatten v. Mason Realty Co., 148 W.Va. 380, 135 S.E.2d 236 (1964), we made clear that "[q]uestions of negligence [and] proximate cause ... present issues of fact for jury determination when the evidence pertaining to such issues is conflicting or where the facts, even though undisputed, are such that reasonable [persons] may draw different conclusions from them." In the instant proceeding we will address the propriety of the circuit court's ruling on negligence and proximate cause separately.
During the trial of this case, Mrs. Arbogast contended that Mid-Ohio breached the medical standard of care in extracting blood from her left arm. This Court has recognized that a "`jury cannot consider whether a medical malpractice defendant has acted negligently until it has determined the standard against which the defendant's conduct is to be measured.'" Reynolds v. City Hosp., Inc., 207 W.Va. 101, 108, 529 S.E.2d 341, 348 (2000) (per curiam) (quoting Bell v. Maricopa Med. Ctr., 157 Ariz. 192, 755 P.2d 1180, 1183 (Ct.App.1988)).
Mrs. Arbogast sought to establish the standard of care for extracting blood from a patient's arm through the expert testimony of Dr. Beverly Kovanda. Dr. Kovanda testified that the standard of care for drawing blood from a patient was established in the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (hereinafter referred to as "NCCLS"). Under standards set by NCCLS, the person extracting blood should have the patient sit in a phlebotomy or venipuncture chair which has "armrests [...
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...that person conducting the blood draw was negligent and the negligence caused the injury); Arbogast v. Mid-Ohio Valley Med. Corp., 214 W.Va. 356, 589 S.E.2d 498, 502-03 (2003) (holding expert necessary in case of negligent blood draw causing a hematoma because a jury cannot consider whether......
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