Hall v. Bacon
| Decision Date | 06 May 1969 |
| Docket Number | No. 10176,10176 |
| Citation | 453 P.2d 816,93 Idaho 1 |
| Parties | Gene HALL and Joanne Hall, husband and wife, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Dr. G. A. BACON, Dr. E. V. Simison, Dr. Leon Myers and St. Anthony Hospital of Pocatello, Idaho, Defendants-Respondents. |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Kerr & Williams, Blackfoot, for plaintiffs-appellants.
Merrill & Merrill, Pocatello, for respondent Bacon.
Maguire & Kisling, Pocatello, for respondent Simison.
Furchner & Anderson, Blackfoot, for respondent Myers.
Holden, Holden & Kidwell, Idaho Falls, for respondent, St. Anthony Hospital of Pocatello.
This action was instituted by Gene Hall and his wife (appellants) against three doctors as individuals and St. Anthony Hospital at Pocatello, Idaho. Hall charged each of the respondents with malpractice or negligence in their treatment of him for severe facial injuries. It is now on appeal from the granting of a summary judgment in favor of the defendants and dismissing the action by the trial court.
On September 13, 1965, appellant was seriously injured while operating heavy equipment on a highway construction project in Bannock County. Shortly after the accident appellant received emergency treatment at St. Anthony Hospital, Pocatello, from Dr. G. A. Bacon, one of the respondents herein. Mr. Hall's injuries consisted of severe facial lacerations which were bleeding profusely, a fractured nose, a fractured maxilla, a fracture of the zygomatic arch, a fracture of the lower orbit of the left eye, as well as injuries to the back, pelvis and one leg. Initial emergency treatment consisted of procedures to control hemorrhaging particularly in the area of the nose and nasal cavities. Dr. Bacon also sutured the lacerations and made a request for X-rays.
The next day Dr. E. V. Simison, another respondent herein, a specialist in eye, ear, nose and throat treatment, was called in on the case. The X-rays were read, indicating nose fractures. According to Dr. Bacon's brief, no other fractures were indicated at that time. On September 16th Dr. Simison performed surgery on Mr. Hall to straighten the nose.
On September 18th Dr. Simison removed the nasal splints from the plaintiff's nose and noted on the hospitaal record that Hall could 'be discharged with Dr. Bacon's approval.' Dr. Bacon also authorized discharge, but when Hall attempted to get out of bed, he fainted. Hall was therefore recommitted to the hospital, and stayed there until the 20th of September. He was not advised of the fractures of the maxilla, the zygomatic arch or the lower orbit of the eye until he had been discharged from the hospital.
On Friday, September 24, 1965, Hall visited Dr. Bacon, complaining of loose teeth, abnormal bite, and difficulty in raising the upper lid of the left eye, as well as fuzziness of vision in the left eye. Dr. Bacon thereupon referred Hall to Drs. Sutton and Wray, oral surgeons in the City of Pocatello. Upon examination by Dr. Wray, it was discovered that there was a fracture of the maxilla. Dr. Wray admitted Hall to the hospital and wired his jaw to treat the mandible fracture. Hospital records on this latter date of admission, September 26, 1965, indicate that Hall was still suffering from a markedly swollen fact.
About October 18, 1965, Hall was seen by Dr. Wolfe, a specialist in plastic or reconstructive surgery, located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. Wolfe noted a deformity of the left eye and recommended surgical procedure in order to determine that the floor of the orbit of the eye was not fractured. From this operation it was determined that the floor of the orbit was normal and Dr. Wolfe opined that the cause of the problem with the eye was a deterioration of the fatty tissue which cushioned the eye and 'there was nothing a medical doctor could do to prevent that.' Subsequently Hall was operated on by Dr. Broadbent, Dr. Wolfe's partner, also a plastic surgeon. The purpose of this latter treatment was additional corrective surgery on Hall's nose.
In their depositions neither Dr. Wolfe nor Dr. Broadbent indicated any deficiency in the treatment Hall received in Pocatello. Both doctors were of the opinion that no additional injury was suffered by Mr. Hall because of the delay in further surgery. In fact they indicated that under some circumstances, such as excessive swelling of the facial area (as in this case), a delay in operative procedures is recommended.
Appellant alleges that Dr. Bacon, Dr. Simison and Dr. Myers, the radiologist at St. Anthony's, as well as the staff of the hospital itself, were negligent and failed to use proper care and skill in diagnosing, treating, and caring for his condition. Appellant alleges that the parties were negligent in failing to inform his or any member of his family of his true physical condition or to take readable X-rays or to interpret the X-rays properly. Hall feels that he was discharged from the hospital before he was ready to be discharged, and that it was not until he obtained the services of Dr. Wray that he began to receive proper care and treatment. Hall's damages are alleged to consist of the prolongation of his pain and suffering, and the need for additional surgery, supposedly as a result of the delay in proper diagnosis and treatment.
In ruling on the defendants' motion for summary judgment, the trial court noted that there was no evidence in the record, and none offered, that services rendered and the facilities provided by the respondents were not as they should have been. Furthermore, the court found that there was no expert testimony provided or offered to the court to enable...
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...interpreted in the light most favorable to them, would support" their asserted cause of action against the defendant. Hall v. Bacon, 93 Idaho 1, 453 P.2d 816 (1969). Thus it is necessary for this Court to review the essential elements of a cause of action in contract and of a cause of actio......
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LePelley v. Grefenson, 13102
...for expert testimony in a medical malpractice case was well established prior to enactment of this legislation. In Hall v. Bacon, 93 Idaho 1, 3, 453 P.2d 816, 818 (1969), the court "The general rule in Idaho . . . is: ' . . . (N)egligence in malpractice cases must be established by expert m......
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