Johnson v. Methodist Medical Center of Illinois
| Decision Date | 28 December 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 92-2937,92-2937 |
| Citation | 10 F.3d 1300 |
| Parties | De Etta JOHNSON, Individually and as Conservator of the Estate of Wanda Johnson and as Next Friend of Domiauant Johnson, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. METHODIST MEDICAL CENTER OF ILLINOIS, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Leonard Ring (argued), Leslie J. Rosen, Margaret A. McGuire, and Barry Chafetz, Ring & Associates, Chicago, IL, for plaintiff-appellant.
James R. Morrison (argued) and Daniel L. Johns, Westervelt, Johnson, Nicoll & Keller, Peoria, IL, for defendant-appellee.
Before POSNER, Chief Judge, CUMMINGS, Circuit Judge, and FAIRCHILD, Senior Circuit Judge.
Fourteen-year-old Wanda Johnson gave birth to her daughter at defendant-appellee hospital Methodist Medical Center of Illinois ("Methodist"). Wanda subsequently developed a brain disorder, and was later adjudicated incompetent. 1 Plaintiff commenced this medical malpractice action, alleging that Wanda was negligently treated at Methodist. 2 In addition to naming Methodist as a defendant, plaintiff alleges specific acts of negligence against three doctors individually. Those allegations are not before this court. The district court denied plaintiff's motion for leave to file a third amended complaint, and granted summary judgment in favor of Methodist. Although claims against the doctors remained outstanding, the court made the judgment final pursuant to Rule 54(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiff challenges both rulings on her appeal from the district court's judgment. We affirm.
At 3:00 a.m. on June 30, 1982, Wanda was admitted to Methodist in labor. At 11:30 a.m., Dr. Robert Thompson, Wanda's obstetrician, performed a vaginal examination and ruptured Wanda's membranes. Additional vaginal examinations were performed. Dr. Thompson delivered Wanda's daughter by cesarean section at approximately 5:30 p.m. that day.
Following delivery, Wanda's blood pressure was significantly elevated, she began coughing up mucous, and she experienced intense abdominal pains. These symptoms, which continued and became worse over the next nine days, were apparently caused by a severe infection. On July 9, Dr. Thompson performed a partial hysterectomy. On July 14, Wanda endured a number of grand mal seizures. The next day, Dr. Thompson performed an exploratory laparotomy, during which he removed Wanda's ovaries and appendix. After this surgery, Wanda's infection was under control. However, Wanda displayed significant behavioral changes.
In addition to Dr. Thompson, other doctors were assertedly involved in negligent treatment of Wanda. Dr. Doughty, an internist who specializes in infectious diseases, saw Wanda at Dr. Thompson's request. Dr. O'Connor, also an internist who specializes in infectious diseases, saw Wanda while Dr. Doughty was on vacation. Plaintiff also refers to "residents," who worked under the supervision of the named doctors, as responsible for negligently treating Wanda.
Wanda remained at Methodist for two months. Now in her twenties, she currently functions at less than an eight-year-old level.
Plaintiff's former attorneys 3 obtained copies of Wanda's hospital charts on August 27, 1982, and July 2, 1985. Plaintiff commenced this action on March 18, 1988. In her first complaint, plaintiff alleged that Methodist, through Drs. Thompson and Doughty, negligently treated Wanda. Pursuant to Sec. 2-622 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, plaintiff's attorney filed an affidavit stating that he had consulted with physicians knowledgeable about the issues in this action, and that after reviewing Wanda's medical records, the physicians concluded that there was "a reasonable and meritorious cause for the filing of this action." The attached reports of the reviewing doctors conclude that Drs. Thompson and Doughty were negligent. 4
On June 16, 1989, plaintiff filed a motion for leave to amend her complaint to include Dr. O'Connor and unnamed residents, whose involvement in Wanda's treatment was discovered during Dr. Doughty's deposition. On July 7, the court granted the motion and plaintiff filed her first amended complaint.
In her second amended complaint, filed August 7, 1989, 5 plaintiff alleged that Methodist, through Drs. Thompson, Doughty and O'Connor, unnamed residents, and operation of its infectious control program, negligently treated Wanda. Specifically, plaintiff alleged that Methodist was negligent by the: (1) failure of the three named doctors and residents to appropriately use antibiotics; (2) failure of Dr. Thompson and residents to obtain appropriate blood cultures; (3) failure of the three named doctors and residents to timely recognize/diagnose Wanda's pelvic catastrophe; (4) failure of Dr. Thompson and residents to timely recognize disseminated intravascular coagulation (a bleeding disorder); (5) failure to obtain a thorough assessment of Wanda's pelvic size or capacity; (6) failure to have an internal pressure catheter or gauge available; and (7) failure to identify Wanda's infectious disease. Thus, plaintiff alleged particular acts of negligence on the part of the named doctors and residents, as agents of Methodist (in numbers 1-4 above). Methodist could only be liable on these charges if the doctors were shown to be Methodist's agents. Plaintiff additionally made three specific allegations against Methodist which are not tied to a distinct individual (in numbers 5-7 above).
One of plaintiff's experts, Dr. Zatuchni, was deposed on August 23, 1991; on September 16, 1991, another expert, Mr. Nellis, was deposed.
On November 27, 1991, Methodist filed a motion for summary judgment. Methodist's motion was accompanied by documentation and legal argument to show that plaintiff's claims that the doctors and residents were agents of Methodist, and that Methodist's employees failed to obtain a thorough assessment of Wanda's pelvic size or capacity, failed to have an internal pressure catheter or gauge available, and failed to identify Wanda's infectious disease, were without merit.
Plaintiff's initial response was to file a motion for leave to file a third amended complaint on January 13, 1992 ("the proposed complaint"); plaintiff maintained that the proposed complaint would render the summary judgment motion moot. In her motion, plaintiff requests leave to amend her complaint to include allegations with respect to the nursing staff and Methodist as an institution, which contentions surfaced during the depositions of Dr. Zatuchni and Mr. Nellis.
The proposed complaint alleges that Methodist, through Drs. Thompson, Doughty and O'Connor, unnamed residents, the nursing staff, and operation of the infectious control program negligently treated Wanda. Specifically plaintiff makes the identical allegations contained in the second amended complaint, and additionally alleges, with respect to the nursing staff: (1) lack of communication between labor and delivery room nurses and medical staff; (2) failure to promptly communicate to Dr. Thompson and residents that Wanda's membranes had ruptured; (3) failure to communicate that the fetal monitor strips were improperly calibrated and in error; (4) failure to chart the rupture of Wanda's membranes; (5) failure to report to Dr. Thompson and residents a decrease in variability noted in fetal monitor strips; (6) negligent discontinuance of the fetal heart monitor; (7) negligent performance of numerous unnecessary vaginal examinations; (8) introduction of bacteria into Wanda's cervix; (9) failure to obtain a clinical evaluation of Wanda's labor progress; (10) negligent provision of morphine to Wanda; and (11) failure to adequately evaluate Wanda's vital signs.
With respect to the "hospital staff" (apparently referring to hospital employees), the proposed complaint alleges: (1) failure to communicate the serious nature of Wanda's condition to Dr. Thompson; (2) failure to perform a pelvic examination; and (3) failure to treat Wanda's cervical infection until Dr. Thompson performed the hysterectomy.
Finally, with respect to the hospital as an institution, the proposed complaint alleges: (1) failure to timely transcribe the surgical note concerning the cesarean section; (2) failure to monitor and oversee the clinical activities of its nursing staff, residents, and house staff; (3) failure to have an attending physician available to provide continuous care; (4) failure to timely provide a documented medical record; (5) allowance of residents and medical trainees to perform clinical evaluations of Wanda without adequate supervision; (6) failure to provide required information on fetal monitor strips; and (7) failure to provide policies and procedures which would allow its nursing staff to apply proper nursing care.
On April 3, 1992, the court denied plaintiff's motion to amend, finding that it was too late in the proceedings to amend the complaint. On April 22, plaintiff filed her response to Methodist's motion for summary judgment. On June 26, the court granted Methodist's motion for summary judgment.
We review the district court's denial of plaintiff's motion for leave to file her proposed complaint for abuse of discretion; the denial will be overturned only if there was no justifying reason for it. J.D. Marshall Int'l, Inc. v. Redstart, Inc., 935 F.2d 815, 819 (7th Cir.1991).
Rule 15(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that leave to amend "shall be freely given when justice so requires." However, leave to amend is not to be automatically granted; the Supreme Court has explained that a court may deny a motion to amend because of "undue delay, bad faith or dilatory motive on the part of the movant, repeated failure to cure...
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