Lee v. Alexander, 89-CA-0459

• Decision Date: 03 June 1992
• Docket Number: No. 89-CA-0459,89-CA-0459
• Citation: 607 So.2d 30
• Parties: Lisa Stevens LEE v. Morris ALEXANDER, M.A.; Greenwood Leflore Hospital; Region VI Mental Health Center; William D. Jones, M.D.; Robert L. McKinley, Jr., M.D. and St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

Page 30

607 So.2d 30

Lisa Stevens LEE v. Morris ALEXANDER, M.A.; Greenwood Leflore Hospital; Region VI Mental Health Center; William D. Jones, M.D. Robert L. McKinley, Jr., M.D. and St Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital.

No. 89-CA-0459.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

June 3, 1992.

As Modified on Denial of Rehearing Aug. 26, 1992.

C. Victor Welsh, III, Crymes G. Pittman, Cothren & Pittman, Jackson, David C. Owen, Columbus, for appellant.

Chris J. Walker, William Reeves, Markow Walker Reeves & Anderson, Albert B. White, Stephen P. Kruger, Upshaw Williams Biggers Page & Kruger, Jackson, Lonnie D. Bailey, Upshaw Williams Biggers Page & Kruger, Greenwood, Mark P. Caraway, George Q. Evans, Wise, Carter Child & Caraway, Christopher A. Shapley, John E. Wade, Jr., Brunini Grantham Grower & Hewes, Jackson, for appellee.

Michael C. Moore, Atty. Gen., Ed Davis Noble, Jr., Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., R. Mark Hodges, Wise Carter Child & Caraway, Jackson, for amicus curiae.

Before ROY NOBLE LEE, C.J., and PRATHER and SULLIVAN, JJ.

ROY NOBLE LEE, Chief Justice, for the Court:

Lisa Stevens Lee filed her complaint in the Circuit Court of Hinds County, First Judicial District, on May 26, 1987, against Morris Alexander, M.D., et al., for negligent diagnosis and treatment and for false imprisonment. All defendants moved for summary judgment and the plaintiff, likewise, moved for summary judgment against all defendants on the issue of liability. The lower court granted the motions of Jones, McKinley and St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital on November 25, 1988. The lower court granted the motion of Greenwood-Leflore Hospital on January 4, 1989 and the motion of Alexander on February 13, 1989. From those summary judgments, Lisa Lee appeals.

FACTS

Lisa Lee presents a complex and emotional saga to this Court. The specific conduct she complains of began with her voluntary admission to the Greenwood-Leflore Hospital on May 26, 1986. She entered the hospital under the care of Dr. S.R. Evans, her gynecologist. She had gone to Dr. Evans' office because of a number of stressful events occurring in her life and their effect on her health. Dr. Evans advised her that he could either give her some drugs to help with the stress or put her in the hospital for rest. She chose the latter course, which led to the actions by the defendants on which Lee's complaint is based.

For a proper perspective on Lee's condition, the course of her life for several years before this hospitalization is relevant. Lisa Lee was born in 1964. She graduated from high school in 1982 and then continued her education in a vocational-technical program, receiving training in word processing. She found a job with Gulfco Finance in Greenwood, and worked there from October of 1984 until the time of her hospitalization. In June of 1983, she was married to Keith Stevens, whose father was Chief of Police in Greenwood. She and Keith had one child during their marriage of about two (2) years. In December of 1985, Lee and Keith divorced, and the chancery court granted her custody of their young son. Lee testified at her deposition that her family and Keith Stevens' family exerted a great deal of pressure on her during the divorce proceedings, since neither family wanted the divorce. The reasons for the divorce, Lee stated, were that her husband was having an affair with a woman with whom he worked and that he did not spend enough time at home with their child.

In January of 1986, she began seeing Joe Lee, a man she met when he came into her office. She became pregnant by Joe and decided to have an abortion, which was performed by Dr. Gunter in Columbus during April. According to Lee, she received no counseling either before or after the abortion from Dr. Gunter's office, which contributed greatly to her deteriorating mental condition. Further complicating her life at this point were several other problems: an audit at Gulfco, an illness which her child was suffering and continued pressure from her parents and her former in-laws, including a threatened custody suit over her son.

Lee had reached a near-breaking point on May 26 when she went to Dr. Evans' office. According to her own testimony, she had developed poor eating habits and could not sleep. She stated that she told Dr. Evans she needed rest and relaxation to help her get back on her feet. Dr. Evans' own notes show his perception of Lee's condition on that day:

The patient looks like she is sedated or overdosed. I am not sure what is going on. I can't make heads or tails out of what has happen [sic] since October 1985 when she had an abnormal pap. She did not come back here. She had a positive culture for herpes at that point. Her partner is also with her today. He states that she is under a lot of pressure from her job, family, et. [sic] I plan to admit her today.

He further noted that Lee vomited at the mention of her mother. Dr. Evans did Thus entered Morris Alexander, M.A. (now Ph.D) into the picture. Alexander went to the hospital as an employee of the Mental Health Center on May 26 and attempted to speak with Lee. His notes from that session reflect that Lee initially answered his questions, but then withdrew and refused to speak with him. He then spoke with Joe Lee, who related the history of Lee's problems substantially as set out above. Alexander met with Lee again on May 27 and 28, and his notes seem to reflect progress in his relationship with her and her general state of mind.

admit her to Greenwood-Leflore Hospital on that day. Lee told Dr. Evans that she only wanted to stay in the hospital for three days. She went to the hospital with Joe Lee, who assisted her in filling out the hospital admission forms. Dr. Evans attempted to examine her after her admission to the hospital, but she refused to allow him to examine her. Dr. Evans then decided to consult with the Regional Mental Health Center.

Although Lee did not want her parents to find out that she was in the hospital, at some point they did learn about it and, depending on the perspective, either rushed to her aid or intruded where they were unwanted and only an unneeded complication. The parents consulted their own doctor, Dr. William D. Jones, about Lee's condition and asked Dr. Evans to allow Dr. Jones to take over Lee's care. Evans' notes on Lee's hospital chart from May 28 at 5:30 p.m. state, "Transfer to Dr. Jones' service (per request of family) if pt. agrees & Dr. Jones accepts." Jones did agree to take over Lee's care, as reflected on the chart just below Evans' notation. Dr. Evans contends in his affidavit that he told both Lisa and Joe Lee of the proposed change and that neither of them objected.

Lee stated that this was the point where things began going wrong. Her parents took control of the situation and Joe Lee, whom she felt to be her "protector" was no longer around. Her parents put a "No Visitors" sign on her hospital room door. They told Dr. Evans that Joe Lee had been giving her drugs. Lee stated that no one asked her about the change of doctors; that she did not know Dr. Jones; and that she objected to everyone in the hospital about the change. She further stated that she had told hospital personnel that she wanted to leave the hospital even before Dr. Jones took over.

Lee had been placed on medication when Dr. Evans admitted her to the hospital and Lee admitted that the medication affected her ability to perceive her own situation and her decision-making ability. Alexander met with Lee again on May 29. During the session, Lee told Alexander that she wanted to leave the hospital and she walked out of the hospital and into the parking lot wearing only her hospital gown. She admitted that at the time she was confused and believed that she still lived at a former residence near the hospital. She stated that she returned to the hospital and told them she wanted her clothes so that she could go home and that when she went back into the hospital, hospital personnel restrained her with a Posey belt. She became violent at that time, trying to get out of the restraints. Alexander's notes confirm that she walked out of the hospital and that security personnel returned her to her room. Jones' notation on the hospital chart that day relates that he was not having much success relating to Lee and that she tried to leave the hospital; he ordered use of a Posey belt, if needed, since the psychiatric room was occupied.

Dr. Evans' notes reflect that he ordered a drug screen on the 26th. However, when the drug screen actually was taken is unclear. The written report from Puckett Laboratory in Hattiesburg reflects that the sample was taken on May 23, which obviously is in error. The report also reflects that the sample was received in the laboratory on May 28 and reported on May 29. The report stated that the sample tested positive for phenobarbital, one of the drugs prescribed by Dr. Evans. The report also lists the drugs which the sample was tested for, and had asterisks next to four of the drugs; amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines and cocaine metabolite. The asterisks reflect that these drugs would be detected only if found at high levels.

Apparently, Alexander misread the drug screen by interpreting the presence of the asterisks by the named drugs as a positive finding of that drug in the sample. Alexander told Dr. McKinley, a psychiatrist with the Regional Mental Health Center, of the test results as he read them. Subsequently, McKinley notified Dr. Guild at St. Dominic-Jackson that the test was positive for barbiturates, amphetamines, benzodiazepines and cocaine, as reflected on a nurses' notes from that hospitalization.

Alexander's notes on the 29th reflect for the first time that a move to a psychiatric facility was being contemplated. He stated that he would "contact Dr. Guild in Jackson re transfer." Lee contends that she was never consulted about being transferred to another facility. However, it is clear that as a...