Lord v. Claxton, 28167.
| Decision Date | 18 April 1940 |
| Docket Number | No. 28167.,28167. |
| Citation | 8 S.E.2d 657 |
| Parties | LORD. v. CLAXTON. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Syllabus by the Court.
The petition as amended set forth a cause of action, and the trial court erred in sustaining the defendant's demurrers and in dismissing the action.
Error from Superior Court, Laurens County; J. L. Kent, Judge.
Suit by Mrs. Bertha B. Lord against Dr. E. B. Claxton for malpractice. To review a judgment for defendant, plaintiff brings error.
Reversed.
Statement of facts by SUTTON, Judge: Mrs. Bertha B. Lord brought suit against Dr. E. B. Claxton and alleged that during the latter part of June, 1937, she entered the Claxton Hospital for the purpose of having an operation because of a tumor, which operation was successfully performed by the defendant; that she should have been released from the hospital in a reasonable length of time, but that in a short time after she came from under the influence of ether, which had been administered to her for said operation, she was given dope or some other powerful drug and was put in a semi-conscious condition and remained in the hospital more than four months; that during that time dope or some other drug was administered to her at intervals in order to keep her in an unconscious condition, and that the defendant permitted the dope and other drugs to be administered to her, or he, himself, administered the same to her, wilfully and maliciously, in conjunction with her sister and brother-in-law, Dr. and Mrs. J. E. New, to injure and damage plaintiff and that she has been injured and damaged thereby in the sum sued for; that the administering of dope or other drugs to plaintiff, to keep her in an unconscious conditionand from possession of all her mental faculties was only a scheme and device entered into by the defendant and the said Dr. and Mrs. New for the purpose of injuring and damaging and humiliating her, to keep her from the full possession of her mental faculties so she would not be able to get well and continue to look after her business, and to allow the said Dr. and Mrs. New time to carry out their scheme and plan of obtaining certain personal property of plaintiff and to take over and manage her estate; that defendant did not give her the proper medical treatment after said operation, but instead conspired with the said Dr. and Mrs. New to keep her from having possession of her mental faculties until they got possession of her property, both real and personal, and that the defendant, through the conspiracy with the said Dr. and Mrs. New, gained a hospital and doctor's bill of about $1,500, which was all unnecessary and unjust; that the defendant and the said Dr. New conspired together for pecuniary purposes, and went around to plaintiff's friends and demanded her diamond, and the defendant demanded her will from a friend and reported that plaintiff was crazy and would not have any mind as long as she lived; that these reports and acts on the part of the defendant were for the purpose and intent of aiding and abetting the said Dr. and Mrs. New in the scheme to get in possession, custody and control of whatever personal property plaintiff owned at the time, and to frustrate, if possible, any mode of alienation of her property by will or other means, in order that the said Dr. and Mrs. New might reap the sole benefits of the personal property and all real estate owned by the plaintiff at the time; that the defendant well knew that the plaintiff was not crazy or mentally unsound, and that she was well able to attend to her own business, but that he, in conspiracy with the said Dr. and Mrs. New, continued for months to keep plaintiff doped and unfit to attend to her business, and thereby caused her to incur heavy expense such as hospital bills, nurses bills, doctor's bill, medical bills, lawyer fees and numerous other expenses, and in addition thereto deprived plaintiff of being up and able to look after her own affairs such as farming interest and other matters which she could have attended to herself instead of having to pay others to do this work; that plaintiff suffered great mental pain and anguish by being retained in the hospital and continually doped and not permitted to go to her home, and that defendant, when friends of plaintiff mentioned taking her home and having her nursed and cared for in her own home, made the statement, "she will certainly not be moved out of my hospital, " and that this statement was made when the defendant well knew at the time that plaintiff was able to go to her home if he had ceased administering to her dope or some other powerful drug which kept her in a semi-conscious condition and which greatly weakened and emaciated her; that even after plaintiff was up and around the hospital, with her mind perfectly cleared up from the dope, the defendant then refused to release her from the hospital and forced her to employ the services of a lawyer before she could effect her release from the hospital; that she was not permitted the pleasure of having her friends visit her, for the reason that the defendant and the said Dr. and Mrs. New knew that someone might detect their conspiracy and would come to plaintiff's aid and assistance, which was finally done, but defendant, after promising plaintiff not to let the said Dr. and Mrs. New visit plaintiff, did let them in and aided and abetted them in carrying out their schemes and plans as above set forth. Judgment was prayed for in the sum of $25,000.
After the filing of demurrers, general and special, by the defendant, the plaintiff amended her petition by alleging that Dr. J. E. New, the husband of Mrs. J. E. New, is also a practicing physician and surgeon and is closely affiliated with the defendant in both business and medical affairs; that the agreed object and purpose of the said Dr. and Mrs. New, in cooperation and understanding with the defendant, was to keep plaintiff confined to the Claxton Hospital, irrespective of her physical condition, until she finally succumbed to the malpractice upon her or her mentality and physical system became so wholly wrecked that she would be compelled to spend the balance of her life in a hospital for the mentally sick; that the said Dr. and Mrs. New had in view the fact that the plaintiff had no heirs at law, and that they were the next of kin entitled to her estate, and the said defendant was motivated by the excessive sums that he would collect from the plaintiff through illegal hospitalization and excessive nurse hire by and through continuous and long confinement, and that the defendant has injured and damaged plaintiff in connection with the said Dr. and Mrs. New, the dam-ages being both general and special; that the acts and conduct of the defendant have caused her great mental and physical pain and mortification to her natural and just feelings that will mark her every thought in life on account of the misrepresentation of the defendant as to her sanity and the brutal treatment advised and condoned through the nurses and servants of the hospital; that at the time of her entrance into the hospital of the defendant she was in a normal mental condition and was suffering only from a tumor, the removal of which she was advised by the defendant and Dr. Barton would not require other than an operation and a hospitalization beyond a period of twelve days from her entry; that at the time of her entry both of her doctors knew that the said Dr. New and Mrs. New would not speak to plaintiff and that, on account of her mortal fear of both of them, it was understood with the defendant and Dr. J. J. Barton that they would not be permitted to visit her; that the doctors correctly diagnosed her case and she underwent a perfect operation on June 25, 1937, and that she immediately came out from under the influence of the anesthetic and was entirely conscious and rapidly gaining her strength to such an extent that she had planned to return to her home on Tuesday, July 6, which was the full period of her twelve days promised her in the hospital; that on or about July 5, when plaintiff intended to go to her home on the following day, and while she felt fully strong enough to do so, realizing that she was getting well as rapidly as nature could bring back her strength naturally lost in the operation, the defendant, through consultation and conspiracy with the said Dr. and Mrs. New, just before she was ready to go to her own home, forcibly required her to take an injection into her arm which completely doped and dumfounded her faculties, and began an involuntary imprisonment of plaintiff, unnecessary, inexcusable and unlawful, for a period of about four and a half months; that immediately after the injection the said Dr. and Mrs. New thereafter continued to visit her room, employ some of the nurses and give directions to the hospital authorities and in cooperation with them to continue her imprisonment and keep her unconscious from the effects of drugs;...
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