Chalothorn v. Meade
| Decision Date | 10 December 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 1998-CA-002693-MR.,1998-CA-002693-MR. |
| Citation | 15 S.W.3d 391 |
| Parties | Narong CHALOTHORN, M.D., Appellant, v. Linda MEADE and Kevin D. Meade, Appellees. |
| Court | Kentucky Court of Appeals |
James P. Grohmann, Beth H. McMasters, Louisville, Kentucky, for Appellant.
Keith Bartley, Prestonsburg, Kentucky, for Appellees.
BEFORE: COMBS, DYCHE, and McANULTY, Judges.
Dr. Narong Chalothorn appeals from a judgment in the amount of $500.00 entered against him in the Floyd Circuit Court. That court had granted appellees Meade a summary judgment finding Dr. Chalothorn to have been negligent as a matter of law in his treatment of Mrs. Meade; a jury had then apportioned fault for her injuries 1% to Dr. Chalothorn, and 99% to Consolidated Health Systems, Inc.
Mrs. Meade was an obstetrical patient of Dr. Chalothorn. She was extremely overweight, and a heavy smoker; her pregnancy was therefore a complicated matter, with high risk to her baby. During labor, the baby began to suffer signs of distress, necessitating a cesarean delivery, which was difficult because of Mrs. Meade's weight of 350 pounds; she began to bleed profusely, and the extraction of the baby required extra assistance.
After the baby was delivered successfully, Dr. Chalothorn inquired of the circulating nurse whether all sponges used in the procedure were accounted for. Hospital regulations require the circulating nurse, with the help of the scrub technician, to count the sponges and instruments prior to an operation, and three times at the conclusion. She initially informed Dr. Chalothorn that one sponge was missing, and he began searching Mrs. Meade's abdominal cavity for it; during this time, the circulating nurse called the nursery and was informed that a sponge had accompanied the baby from the operating room to the nursery. She then informed Dr. Chalothorn that the count was correct, and he closed the incisions, finishing the operation.
Only at this point did the hospital staff determine that the sponge in the nursery was not a surgical sponge. Dr. Chalothorn then arranged for the removal of the sponge, which was accomplished by laparoscope, without complications, three days after the delivery.
Mr. and Mrs. Meade brought this action to recover money damages for the injuries suffered by Mrs. Meade, and the loss of her consortium by Mr. Meade, caused by the alleged negligence of the hospital and Dr. Chalothorn. The hospital settled the claim with the Meades, and the action proceeded against Dr. Chalothorn.
The Meades filed a motion for summary judgment. The memorandum supporting this motion is absent from the record, and is not contained in appellees' brief, so we must assume that the trial court's judgment incorporated the grounds asserted by them. The summary judgment finds that "the failure of the Defendant, Narong Chalothorn, to correctly account for the sponges utilized in the cesarean section ... constitutes negligence as a matter of law." The...
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CUNNINGHAM v. ABBOTT
...The foregoing questions of fact justified going forward with trial. Steelvest, 807 S.W.2d at 48082; See also, Chalothorn v. Meade, 15 S.W.3d 391 (Ky. App. 1999). Therefore, reversal is necessary. Because we have determined partial summary judgment was improvidently granted to Abbott, severa......
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Nazar v. Branham, No. 2004-SC-001015-DG.
...issue of the surgeon's liability from the evidence presented at trial. In support of his argument, Dr. Nazar relies upon Chalothorn v. Meade, 15 S.W.3d 391 (Ky.App.1999), where the Court of Appeals reversed a trial court order holding a doctor negligent as a matter of law. In Chalothorn, th......
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Branham v. Nazar, No. 2003-CA-001110-MR (KY 10/22/2004)
...DYCHE, JUDGE, DISSENTING: I must respectfully dissent, as I believe Chalothorn was correctly decided, under its facts. 1. Ky.App., 15 S.W.3d 391 (2000). 2. Ky., 534 S.W.2d 449 3. A Dura Hook is a small, fishhook-like device used to hold back certain tissues that might obstruct a surgeon's v......