Hiatt v. Groce

• Decision Date: 15 June 1974
• Docket Number: No. 47204,47204
• Citation: 523 P.2d 320,215 Kan. 14
• Parties: Darlene HIATT, Appellee, v. Patricia J. GROCE and Bethany Hospital, Inc., Appellants.
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

Page 320

523 P.2d 320

215 Kan. 14

Darlene HIATT, Appellee, v. Patricia J. GROCE and Bethany Hospital, Inc., Appellants.

No. 47204.

Supreme Court of Kansas.

June 15, 1974.

Syllabus by the Court

1. A private hospital is bound to exercise toward a patient such reasonable care as the patient's known condition may require, the degree of care being in proportion to the patient's known physical and mental ailments. The extent and character of the care that a hospital owes its patients depends upon the circumstances of the particular case, and the measure of duty of a hospital is to exercise that degree of care, skill and diligence used by hospitals generally in the community.

2. Expert medical testimony is ordinarily required to establish negligence on the part of either a physician or a hospital in their care and treatment of a patient, unless the medical procedures employed are so patently bad that negligence or lack of skill is manifest to a lay observer or other acts complained of could be regarded as negligent by applying the common knowledge and experience of mankind.

3. In determining whether a registered nurse used the learning, skill and conduct required of her, the jury is not permitted to arbitrarily set a standard of its own or determine the question from its personal knowledge. On questions of nursing expertise concerning the standard of care of a nurse, only those qualified as experts are permitted to testify. The standard of care is established by members of the same profession in the same or similar communities under like circumstances.

4. Under K.S.A. 60-249(b) it is within the discretionary power of the trial court to submit special questions to the jury upon one or more substantial questions of disputed fact on which decision is necessary to a verdict.

5. In a negligence action brought against a nurse, while acting within the scope of her employment with a hospital, and a hospital for injuries resulting to the plaintiff while a maternity patient at the hospital for failure of the nurse to notify the plaintiff's physician that delivery of the plaintiff's child was imminent, the record is examined and it is held: There was sufficient competent evidence by lay and medical witnesses to warrant the jury's finding of negligence and causation.

Leonard O. Thomas, of Weeks, Thomas, Lysaught, Bingham & Johnston, Chartered, Kansas City, argued the cause, and David K. Fromme, Kansas City, of the same firm, was with him on the brief for appellants.

Felix G. Kancel, Jr., Kansas City, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellee.

SCHROEDER, Justice:

This is a negligence action brought against the defendant, Patricia J. Groce, while acting as a nurse within the scope of her employment with the defendant, Bethany Hospital, Inc. for injuries resulting to the plaintiff while a maternity patient at the hospital for failure of Patricia J. Groce to notify the plaintiff's physician that delivery of plaintiff's child was imminent. A jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff and assessed the damages at $15,000 upon which the trial court entered judgment. Appeal has been duly perfected by the defendants.

The primary questions on appeal concern the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the plaintiff's allegations of negligence and causation.

On the evening of January 23, 1970, Darlene Hiatt (plaintiff-appellee), 24 years of age, entered Bethany Hospital, Inc. (defendant-appellant) for the birth of her second child. She entered the hospital at about 7:00 p. m. on that date, after having notified her physician, Dr. Lee Rook, of her intention. Upon arrival at the hospital, Dr. Rook was notified by the hospital of her admission, and Mrs. Hiatt was taken to the labor room where she was prepared for delivery. The evening was uneventful and at 11:00 o'clock p. m. on the 23rd day of January, 1970, Mrs. Hiatt went to bed experiencing only mild labor pains. Between 7:30 and 8:00 a. m. on the 24th day of January, Patricia J. Groce (defendant-appellant) came on duty at the hospital as a nurse. According to Mr. Hiatt the nurse told him to watch the clock and time the length and interval of pains, and that as the pains became closer together the husband was instructed to notify the nurse. During that time Nurse Groce was in an office up the hallway from the labor room reading a magazine, according to Mr. Hiatt.

Mr. Hiatt testified that about 7:30 that morning he found the nurse and informed her that his wife's pains were getting harder and closer together and asked her to check his wife. His testimony was that Nurse Groce continued to read the magazine and then said, 'All right, I will go check her.' After checking her, the nurse said, 'She's piddling around. It will be quite some time before she has the baby.' The nurse informed him that his wife was still at seven, meaning she was at seven centimeters of dilation. He then informed the nurse at the birth of their first child, birth came immediately after his wife had reached eight centimeters of dilation; to which the nurse responded that he should not worry about it, that she was in charge on the floor and would take care of calling the doctor and do what was necessary when she thought it was necessary.

At 8:30 o'clock that morning the pains were getting very hard and close together. The husband went to see Nurse Groce again and asked her to check his wife; but she continued to read the magazine and said that she would be there in a minute. When the nurse came from the labor room she informed Mr. Hiatt that his wife was at 'eight'. Testimony of the husband was that he would appreciate her calling the doctor immediately, and he repeated that on the birth of their first child the baby was born shortly after 'eight'.

Mrs. Sledd, the mother of Darlene Hiatt, was present at the hospital on the night in question. She had given birth to sixteen children. Mrs. Sledd was in the labor room watching her daughter rather closely and at 8:30 o'clock in the morning asked Nurse Groce whether she had called the doctor and the nurse answered in the affirmative. At that time Mrs. Sledd said, 'I know childbirth and I knew she should have been in the delivery room.' She testified the baby was on the right side and there was a big knot; that her daughter was 'in real birth pain, looked like the baby was coming, which I knew it was.' She testified the labor pains were 'about every two minutes, every minute.' She said, 'You know, the pain was there and-you know, it wouldn't leave like it usually would. It was just there.' Mrs. Sledd testified that she didn't know anything about her daughter's measurements but said, 'Well, I just-you know, she was like, you know, when a child is going to be born. I was watching her because I was concerned why they didn't give her something.'

The next time Mr. Hiatt went to ask Nurse Groce to examine his wife was at 9:00 o'clock a. m. Again, he testified, Nurse Groce continued to read a magazine and stated she would 'be there in a minute.' When she did examine Mrs. Hiatt the nurse told Mr. Hiatt that dilation was at eight centimeters. Mr. Hiatt then asked the nurse to call the doctor and repeated what he had previously told her concerning the prior birth. Nurse Groce replied that she was in charge and would do what she considered necessary. Mr. Hiatt then told Nurse Groce he would hold her responsible if anything happened to his wife. Nurse Groce retorted: 'This hospital has never lost a father yet so you just go back there and sit down.' After making this statement Mr. Hiatt testified that Nurse Groce returned to the nurses' office and began again to read a magazine.

Some ten minutes later Mrs. Hiatt screamed and grabbed her husband and said, 'I am going to have that baby right now.' Hurriedly, the husband went to get the nurse. The nurse continued to read the magazine for awhile and then went to the labor room; immediately left the labor room and went to the telephone to call Dr. Rook, telling him, 'we are having a baby right now' and ran back to the labor room. The nurse then pushed Mrs. Hiatt into the delivery room on a cart and Mrs. Hiatt was told to get off the cart and get on the delivery table, which she did by herself. Mr. Hiatt testified the nurse rushed back into the hall to try and find a doctor, and told Mrs. Hiatt, 'Pant like a dog and don't have that kid yet.' Mr. Hiatt said that when he returned to the delivery room his wife was on the table with her feet up in stirrups, Nurse Groce went into the hall and got a Dr. Sullivan, who was walking by, and said, 'Dr. Sullivan * * * come in here quick * * * We are having a baby right now.' The evidence reveals that Dr. Sullivan was not scrubbed; that Nurse Groce was scrubbed and wearing gloves and that Nurse Groce delivered the baby. Nurse Groce testified that although the hospital records state the baby was delivered by Dr. Sullivan for Dr. Rook, she in fact had delivered the baby but was under orders from the hospital not to record that fact.

Mrs. Hiatt testified that when she had climbed from the cart to the delivery table by her own effort, and had placed her own feet in the stirrups at the end of the table, she looked in the mirror, which was in the delivery room, and saw that the baby was being born. She saw the baby's head and shoulders making exit from her body at the time Nurse Groce came in with Dr. Sullivan. Mrs. Hiatt testified that when she observed this condition she fainted and that when she regained consciousness Dr. Sullivan was sewing her up; that she asked Dr. Sullivan not to do that because she had had no anesthetic and that it was hurting her; but that he kept on sewing; and then Dr. Rook arrived and came into the room and said, 'Why hasn't she been given any gas?'; at which time Dr. Rook turned on the gas. Dr. Rook then completed the sutures on her vagina and labia. The evidence is that this unattended birth caused two lacerations of Mrs. Hiatt's vagina and...