Clark v. Vicksburg Healthcare, LLC

• Decision Date: 13 December 2022
• Docket Number: 2021-CA-00173-COA
• Parties: JAKYRA CLARK, INDIVIDUALLY, AND AS NEXT FRIEND AND NATURAL GUARDIAN OF J.C., A MINOR APPELLANT v. VICKSBURG HEALTHCARE, LLC D/B/A RIVER REGION MEDICAL CENTER, RIVER REGION HEALTH SYSTEMS, MERIT HEALTH RIVER REGION, AND MERIT HEALTH RIVER REGION WEST APPELLEES
• Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals

JAKYRA CLARK, INDIVIDUALLY, AND AS NEXT FRIEND AND NATURAL GUARDIAN OF J.C., A MINOR APPELLANT
v.
VICKSBURG HEALTHCARE, LLC D/B/A RIVER REGION MEDICAL CENTER, RIVER REGION HEALTH SYSTEMS, MERIT HEALTH RIVER REGION, AND MERIT HEALTH RIVER REGION WEST APPELLEES

No. 2021-CA-00173-COA

Court of Appeals of Mississippi

December 13, 2022

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 01/15/2021

WARREN COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT HON. M. JAMES CHANEY JR. TRIAL JUDGE

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT: ANITA M. STAMPS LARRY STAMPS

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES: R. E. PARKER JR. CLIFFORD C. WHITNEY III PENNY B. LAWSON

EN BANC.

EMFINGER, J.

¶1. Jakyra Clark filed a complaint in the Warren County Circuit Court on behalf of her infant son, J.C., and herself, seeking damages for injuries she and J.C. suffered while J.C. was under the care of Vicksburg Healthcare LLC d/b/a/ River Region Medical Center, River Region Health Systems, Merit Health River Region, and Merit Health River Region West (collectively "River Region"). Jakyra appeals from the circuit court's order granting River

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Region's motion for summary judgment.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2. On July 17, 2017, J.C., who was ten days old, was suffering from a cold and nasal congestion. Jakyra carried him to River Region where he was diagnosed with an RSV infection and was admitted to the hospital for observation, with orders for a chest x-ray and other tests. According to Nurse Kay Winpigler's deposition testimony, when she was attempting to take J.C.'s vital signs, she placed him on the bed lengthways. The railing on the bed was down so the nurse could get to the child to take his blood pressure. Winpigler testified that when she is taking a child's vital signs, she normally has her hand on the child. In this instance, she had to reach for the blood pressure machine to turn it around. Winpigler said that while she was turning the machine around, she must have lifted her hand off J.C. and he fell from the bed onto the tile floor.

¶3. J.C.'s mother described the event differently. According to Jakyra's deposition testimony, she laid J.C. down on the bed so that the nurse could take the baby's clothes off to get his vital signs. Jakyra was on one side of the bed, and Winpigler was on the other side. Jakyra stated that after undressing J.C., Winpigler picked him up to turn him around and put him on the "weighing thing," which was beside the bed. At this point, while J.C. was in Winpigler's hands, she dropped the baby to the floor.

¶4. As a result of hitting his head on the floor, J.C. was found to have a non-depressed, linear skull fracture. He was transferred to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, admitted for overnight observation, and discharged the next morning. Later, on April 10,

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2018, an x-ray of J.C.'s skull was taken, and the fracture was no longer visible.

¶5. Jakyra filed her complaint on April 5, 2019. An amended complaint was filed on June 26, 2019, in which Jakyra sought damages from the defendants for negligence and breach of warranty. After the deadlines set by the trial court for the designation of experts and for the completion of discovery had passed, River Region filed its motion for summary judgment. River Region argued that Jakyra had failed to designate a medical expert witness and had failed to make out a prima facie case of medical negligence and gross negligence. Further, River Region argued that the claim for breach of warranty was not applicable to this case.

¶6. In her response to the motion for summary judgment, Jakyra argued that this is not a case where a medical expert was required to establish that the nurse breached the standard of care by allowing a ten-day-old infant to fall to the floor while in her care, regardless of which version of events a jury might believe. Instead...