Lomayestewa v. Our Lady of Mercy Hospital, 78-SC-536-D

• Decision Date: 09 October 1979
• Docket Number: No. 78-SC-536-D,78-SC-536-D
• Citation: 589 S.W.2d 885
• Parties: Jessica LOMAYESTEWA, Movant, v. OUR LADY OF MERCY HOSPITAL (Religious Sisters of Mercy of the Union of the United States of America), Respondent.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky

Page 885

589 S.W.2d 885

Jessica LOMAYESTEWA, Movant, v. OUR LADY OF MERCY HOSPITAL (Religious Sisters of Mercy of the Union of the United States of America) Respondent.

No. 78-SC-536-D.

Supreme Court of Kentucky.

Oct. 9, 1979.

Rehearing Denied Nov. 20, 1979.

Charles E. Moore, Moore, Moore & Hager, Owensboro, for movant.

Clarence McCarroll, Bartlett, McCarroll & Nunley, Owensboro, for respondent.

REED, Justice.

The movant, Jessica Lomayestewa, a 28-year-old Navajo Indian, is a victim of Grand Mal epilepsy and emotional derangement. While a patient at respondent, Our Lady of Mercy Hospital, she either jumped or fell through a window in a room she was occupying in the psychiatric ward of the hospital. Her fall to the ground produced personal injuries and she sued the hospital for these damages.

At the trial, the judge submitted to the jury the issues of the hospital's negligence and Jessica's contributory negligence. The jury returned a general verdict in favor of the hospital. From a judgment in accordance with the verdict, Jessica appealed to the Court of Appeals but the judgment was affirmed. We granted discretionary review and now reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals and the judgment of the trial court with direction that Jessica's motion for judgment n. o. v. be sustained and that judgment be entered in her favor against the hospital on the issue of liability and that a new trial by jury be limited to the issue of damages.

The evidence established that Jessica was emotionally deranged and this condition was well known to the hospital at the time she was accepted as a patient. The evidence also clearly established that the room which she occupied at the time of the incident complained of had no detention screen or its equivalent as required in the operation of hospital psychiatric wards by Kentucky Administrative Regulation No. 902 KAR 20.010. It appears that Jessica, a college student, became violent and uncontrollable in her dormitory and was first admitted to Room 222, a so-called "seclusion room" in the psychiatric ward. Later, she was moved to Room 218 in the same ward for accessibility to oxygen. Apparently she became somewhat combative and was placed on a bed with "Posey restraints." Posey restraints are described in the evidence as a restraint-type vest which are in the nature of a modified strait jacket. She was left alone and somehow extricated herself from the restraints, got to the window and jumped out. There was no detention screen on the window of Room 218 as required by the statutorily authorized regulation. Although the hospital sought to inject the consideration that the condition of the window was "equivalent to" the required detention screen, the administrator of the hospital candidly testified that no detention screen was on the window, that the window was latched from the inside by a normal latch and could be raised easily if it was unlocked. The other excuse offered by the hospital was that periodic inspections by governmental officials had not raised any question as to the compliance with the regulation. Our review of the record convinces us that it is crystal clear there was a violation of the regulation and, of course, no inspector had any authority to relieve the hospital of compliance with the statutory standard.

Having determined there was a violation of the statutory standard, we have no trouble in determining that Jessica was one of the class of persons intended to be...