Boland v. St. Luke's Health Sys., Inc.

• Decision Date: 26 November 2013
• Docket Number: C/w WD75485,WD75364,C/w WD75367,C/w WD75484,C/w WD75366
• Parties: SALLY BOLAND, Appellant, SHERRI LYNN HARPER, Appellant, DAVID C. GANN, Appellant, JENNIRAE LITTRELL, NATURAL DAUGHTER OF DECEDENT CLARENCE BAILEY WARNER, Appellant, HELEN PITTMAN, NATURAL SISTER OF DECEDENT SHIRLEY R. ELLER, Appellant, v. SAINT LUKE'S HEALTH SYSTEM, INC. AND SAINT LUKES HOSPITAL OF CHILLICOTHE F/K/A THE GRAND RIVER HEALTH SYSTEM CORPORATION D/B/A HEDRICK MEDICAL CENTER AND COMMUNITY HEALTH GROUP, Respondents.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

SALLY BOLAND, Appellant,
SHERRI LYNN HARPER, Appellant,
DAVID C. GANN, Appellant,
JENNIRAE LITTRELL, NATURAL DAUGHTER
OF DECEDENT CLARENCE BAILEY WARNER, Appellant,
HELEN PITTMAN, NATURAL SISTER
OF DECEDENT SHIRLEY R. ELLER, Appellant,
v.
SAINT LUKE'S HEALTH SYSTEM, INC.
AND SAINT LUKES HOSPITAL OF CHILLICOTHE F/K/A
THE GRAND RIVER HEALTH SYSTEM CORPORATION D/B/A HEDRICK
MEDICAL CENTER AND COMMUNITY HEALTH GROUP, Respondents.

WD75364
C/w WD75366
C/w WD75367
C/w WD75484
C/w WD75485

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District

OPINION FILED: November 26, 2013

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Appeal from the Circuit Court of Livingston County, Missouri The Honorable Thomas N. Chapman, Judge and The Honorable Jason A. Kanoy, Judge
Before Division Two: Thomas H. Newton, Presiding Judge, Karen King Mitchell, Judge and Gary D. Witt, Judge

This appeal arises from five separate wrongful death lawsuits all filed against the same three corporate defendants. The cases have been consolidated on appeal from the grant of judgments on the pleadings in favor of Respondents in each case.¹ The legal issue in each case is identical: whether the trial courts erred in granting Respondents' motions for judgment on the pleadings, finding that the three-year statute of limitations in the Wrongful Death Act had expired prior to the filing of the petitions. §§ 537.080, 537.100.² Because we determine that the statute of limitations did not accrue because of Respondents' fraudulent actions, we reverse and remand.

Factual and Procedural History³

Appellants filed claims on behalf of five individuals who were allegedly intentionally killed by a respiratory therapist in the Hedrick Medical Center ("Hedrick") in Chillicothe. Respondents are three corporate defendants affiliated with Hedrick: (1) Saint Luke's Health System, Inc., (2) Saint Luke's Hospital of Chillicothe, f/k/a Grand River Health System Corp. d/b/a/ Hedrick Medical Center, and (3) Community Health Group.⁴

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Appellants allege that respiratory therapist Jennifer Hall ("Hall"), a Hedrick employee, administered an intentionally lethal overdose of succinylcholine and/or insulin and/or other medication that resulted in each of the five deaths and that the Respondents intentionally concealed Hall's actions. Succinylcholine is a muscle relaxant that paralyzes the respiratory muscles and is normally used in a hospital to allow the insertion of a breathing tube into the throat of a patient who is still conscious. In higher doses, succinylcholine results in paralysis and the victim slowly suffocates.

Following are the specific allegations relating to each death, including the relevant dates:

Appellant Sally Boland

Charles O'Hara, father of Appellant Sally Boland ("Boland"), was being treated at Hedrick when he died on or around February 3, 2002. O'Hara "coded"⁵ and died after Hall administered a lethal overdose of succinylcholine and/or insulin and/or other medication. Boland filed her action on January 7, 2011.

Appellant Sherri Lynn Harper

David Harper, spouse of Appellant Sherri Lynn Harper ("Harper"), was being treated at Hedrick when he died on or about March 22, 2002. Hall administered a lethal dose of succinylcholine and/or insulin and/or other medication to David Harper that resulted in his death. Harper filed her action on October 4, 2010.

Appellant David Gann

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Coval Gann, father of Appellant David Gann ("Gann"), died on March 30, 2002 at Hedrick. Hall administered a lethal dose of succinylcholine and/or insulin and/or other medication to Coval Gann that resulted in his death. Gann filed his action on October 4, 2010.

Appellant Jennirae Littrell

Clarence Warner, father of Appellant Jennirae Littrell, was being treated at Hedrick when he died on April 15, 2002. Hall administered a lethal dose of succinylcholine and/or insulin and/or other medication to Warner that resulted in his death. Littrell filed her action on July 14, 2010.

Appellant Helen Pittmann

Shirley Eller, sister of Appellant Helen Pittman ("Pittman"), was being treated at Hedrick when she died on March 9, 2002. Hall administered a lethal dose of succinylcholine and/or insulin and/or other medication to Eller that resulted in her death. Pittman filed her action on July 14, 2010.

* * * * *

In addition to alleging facts specific to each patient, Appellants allege numerous facts applicable to all deaths. Between January 2002 and May 2002, Hedrick experienced a number of suspicious deaths, each of which involved Hall, who had access to the lethal medications. Although Hedrick's doctors, nurses, and administrators knew of the suspicious deaths, Respondents worked systematically to conceal any indication of the spike in deaths as well as the suspicious nature of the deaths. Respondents

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intentionally and fraudulently concealed all indications of tortious conduct in the following manners:

-Respondents threatened and coerced employees of Hedrick to conceal information concerning the actions of Hall;

-Respondents failed to request autopsies so as to conceal the true causes of the patients' deaths when they knew a number of deaths were suspicious;

-Respondents informed and/or instructed Hedrick employees to notify patients' families that the causes of death were "natural" instead of caused by Hall;

-Respondents disbanded committees, such as the peer review committee, previously put in place by Hedrick to evaluate "codes" and determine preventative measures;

-Respondents failed to inform pertinent individuals and relevant medical communities about Hall's intentional and/or negligent battery of patients;

-Respondents failed to investigate and/or monitor Hall when requested to do so by law enforcement;

-Respondents discarded and/or failed to preserve crucial material evidence contained in Hall's locker pertaining to her intentional and/or negligent batteries;

-Respondents impeded the investigation of Hall by law enforcement.

Attached to the pleadings was an affidavit of Dr. Cal Greenlaw, a physician in Chillicothe who had admitting privileges at Hedrick during the relevant time frame. While working in the emergency room on February 18, 2002, Greenlaw treated a patient who suddenly "coded" due to a "cardiovascular collapse." Though the patient's blood

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sugar levels kept bottoming out to zero, Greenlaw could not identify a valid medical basis for the patient's unusual blood sugar/insulin events.

Greenlaw worked with the patient "throughout the night trying everything possible to save her life." He checked to see whether the patient had accidentally been injected with insulin, though his investigation revealed nothing. At this point, Greenlaw suspected "that someone had put insulin in her IV bags as there was no other valid medical basis for her body to be releasing that much insulin on a continual basis."

Greenlaw was told by a nurse in the intensive care unit of two other suspicious "codes" and resulting deaths before the incident on February 18, 2002. Greenlaw "immediately became suspicious that someone in the industry was attempting to kill patients."

At a meeting of Hedrick personnel on March 12, 2002, Greenlaw voiced his "concerns to hospital administration that there was someone on staff at Hedrick who was attempting to kill and sometimes succeeding in killing patients." Following the meeting, Greenlaw heard Julie Jones, Hedrick's director of nurses say, "We don't have a problem here and if anyone breathes a word of this you'll be fired."

On March 26, 2002, Greenlaw met with Jim Johnson, Hedrick's hospital administrator. Greenlaw told Johnson that he suspected Hall of killing patients. Johnson said, "No, we don't have a problem. We can't let this get out or it will affect our admissions." After the meeting, Johnson instructed Hedrick nurses they would be fired if they were seen talking or even walking with Greenlaw.

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Despite Greenlaw's warnings, there were more suspicious deaths at Hedrick. Greenlaw is aware of eighteen "codes" and nine suspicious deaths at Hedrick from February 3, 2002, through May 17, 2002, all of which occurred while Hall was on duty.

Respondents' pleadings also included an affidavit from Aleta Boyd, a registered nurse who worked at Hedrick for seventeen years. During the relevant time frame, Boyd was Hedrick's risk manager for internal events, which included incidents like patient falls, infection rates, and medication errors. During the first week of March 2002, Boyd "became aware that there was a drastic increase in code blue events and deaths during the month of February." After speaking with nurses and the pharmacist to rule out nursing error in the administration of insulin, Boyd "became suspicious that patients were intentionally being injected with insulin or some other drug causing them to have these insulin events." Boyd appointed two...