Reynolds v. City Hosp., Inc.

• Decision Date: 10 March 2000
• Docket Number: No. 25831.,25831.
• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court
• Parties: Catherine H. REYNOLDS, Individually and in Her Own Capacity; and Catherine H. Reynolds, By and Through Roy A. Horning, Her Power of Attorney, Plaintiff Below, Appellants, v. CITY HOSPITAL, INC., a West Virginia Corporation; and C. Dong Park, M.D. Defendants Below, Appellees.

529 S.E.2d 341

207 W.Va. 101

Catherine H. REYNOLDS, Individually and in Her Own Capacity; and Catherine H. Reynolds, By and Through Roy A. Horning, Her Power of Attorney, Plaintiff Below, Appellants, v. CITY HOSPITAL, INC., a West Virginia Corporation; and C. Dong Park, M.D. Defendants Below, Appellees.

No. 25831.

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

Submitted on Rehearing January 12, 2000.

Decided March 10, 2000.

Dissenting Opinion of Justice Starcher April 21, 2000.

Laura R. Rose, Mary Binns-Davis, Rose & Associates, Martinsburg, West Virginia, Attorneys for Appellant.

William E. Galeota, Kenneth E. Barton, Jr., Tracey B. Dawson, Steptoe & Johnson, Martinsburg, West Virginia, Attorneys for City Hospital.

Curtis G. Power, III, Bowles Rice McDavid Graff & Love, Martinsburg, West Virginia, Attorney for C. Dong Park, M.D.

PER CURIAM:

This appeal was filed by Catherine H. Reynolds, appellant/plaintiff (hereinafter referred to as "Ms. Reynolds"),¹ from an adverse jury verdict in a medical malpractice action prosecuted against City Hospital, Inc., appellee/defendant (hereinafter referred to as "the Hospital"), and Dr. C. Dong Park, appellee/defendant (hereinafter referred to as "Dr. Park"). The case was tried before the Circuit Court of Berkeley County. Ms. Reynolds contends that the trial court erred by (1) refusing to give certain jury instructions and (2) admitting evidence regarding Medicare. Additionally, Ms. Reynolds contends that the jury's verdict was against the clear weight of the evidence. Upon a review of the arguments of parties, the record presented for consideration on appeal, and the pertinent authorities, we find that there was no reversible error in the trial of this case. As such, we affirm the jury verdict imposed by the Circuit Court of Berkeley County.

Subsequent to the July 9, 1999, initial release of this opinion, the Appellants filed a Petition for Rehearing pursuant to Rule 24(a) of the West Virginia Rules of Appellant Procedure. That petition was granted by this Court, and counsel for the Appellants presented briefs and oral argument regarding the allegation that counsel was precluded at trial from asserting various arguments due to the lower court's failure to furnish certain requested jury instructions.

Upon further deliberation, research, and evaluation of the trial transcripts and arguments of counsel for all parties, this Court hereby reaffirms the lower court's determination in this matter, having concluded that this case was fairly tried before a fair, impartial, and properly instructed jury. The lower court's refusal to instruct the jury in the language requested by the Appellants was not error and did not unfairly limit counsel's argument on behalf of the Appellants.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Ms. Reynolds was admitted to the Hospital by her treating physician, Dr. Park, on January 14, 1994,² as a result of a fall she had while at home. Dr. Park recommended that Ms. Reynolds undergo testing regarding low-back pain she sustained from the fall at her residence.

Ms. Reynolds remained in the Hospital for approximately one month. While hospitalized, Ms. Reynolds twice fell out of bed. The first fall resulted in a shoulder injury. For two weeks after the first fall at the Hospital, Ms. Reynolds was physically restrained while in bed. Shortly after the physical restraints were removed, Ms. Reynolds again fell out of bed. Her second fall resulted in a hip injury.

Subsequent to Ms. Reynolds' release from the Hospital, she filed the instant medical malpractice action against the Hospital and Dr. Park. The case was tried before a jury on December 2 through 10, 1997. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the Hospital and Dr. Park. From this adverse jury verdict, Ms. Reynolds now appeals.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

This Court has previously held:

[a]lthough the ruling of a trial court in granting or denying a motion for a new trial is entitled to great respect and weight, the trial court's ruling will be reversed on appeal when it is clear that the trial court has acted under some misapprehension of the law or the evidence.

Syl. pt. 4, Sanders v. Georgia-Pacific Corp., 159 W.Va. 621, 225 S.E.2d 218 (1976). See also Syl. pt. 1, Andrews v. Reynolds Mem'l Hosp., Inc., 201 W.Va. 624, 499 S.E.2d 846 (1997). We noted recently in Gum v. Dudley, 202 W.Va. 477, 482, 505 S.E.2d 391, 396 (1997), that in reviewing an order denying a new trial, we review "the circuit court's final order and ultimate disposition under an abuse of discretion standard. We review challenges to findings of fact under a clearly erroneous standard; conclusions of law are reviewed de novo." Accord Syl. pt. 4, Burgess v. Porterfield, 196 W.Va. 178, 469 S.E.2d 114 (1996).

With this overall standard of review in mind, we turn to the assignments of error in this case.

III. DISCUSSION

On appeal to this Court, Ms. Reynolds assigns three errors she claims were committed by the circuit court. First, Ms. Reynolds contends that the trial court improperly refused to give certain of her proffered jury instructions. Second, Ms. Reynolds argues that the lower court erroneously admitted evidence of Medicare during the trial proceedings. Third, Ms. Reynolds complains that the trial court incorrectly denied her motion for a new trial. We will consider each of these assigned errors in turn.

A. The Trial Court's Refusal Give Certain Jury Instructions

Ms. Reynolds complains that the trial court refused to give certain jury instructions proffered by her. This Court has held that "[a]s a general rule, the refusal to give a requested jury instruction is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. By contrast, the question of whether a jury was properly instructed is a question of law, and the review is de novo." Syl. pt. 1, State v. Hinkle, 200 W.Va. 280, 489 S.E.2d 257 (1996). See also Skaggs v. Elk Run Coal Co., Inc., 198 W.Va. 51, 63, 479 S.E.2d 561, 573 (1996)

; Syl. pt. 6, Voelker v. Frederick Bus. Properties, 195 W.Va. 246, 465 S.E.2d 246 (1995); Syl. pt. 6, Tennant v. Marion Health Care Found., Inc., 194 W.Va. 97, 459 S.E.2d 374 (1995). In Skaggs, we stated:

[t]o challenge jury instructions successfully, a challenger must first demonstrate the charge as a whole created a substantial and ineradicable doubt about whether the jury was properly guided in its deliberations. Second, even if the jury instructions were erroneous, we will not reverse if we determine, based upon the entire record, that the challenged instruction could not have affected the outcome of the case.

198 W.Va. at 70, 479 S.E.2d at 580. See also Syl. pt. 2, Roberts v. Stevens Clinic Hosp., Inc., 176 W.Va. 492, 345 S.E.2d 791 (1986); Syl. pt. 3, Lambert v. Great Atl. & Pac. Tea Co., 155 W.Va. 397, 184 S.E.2d 118 (1971).

Finally, in Syllabus point 4 of State v. Guthrie, 194 W.Va. 657, 461 S.E.2d 163 (1995), we observed:

A trial court's instructions to the jury must be a correct statement of the law and supported by the evidence. Jury instructions are reviewed by determining whether the charge, reviewed as a whole, sufficiently instructed the jury so they understood the issues involved and were not misle[d] by the law. A jury instruction cannot be dissected on appeal; instead, the entire instruction is looked at when determining its accuracy. A trial court, therefore, has broad discretion in formulating its charge to the jury, as long as the charge accurately reflects the law. Deference is given to a trial court's discretion concerning the specific wording of the instruction, and the precise extent and character of any specific instruction will be reviewed only for an abuse of discretion.

See Kessel v. Leavitt, 204 W.Va. 95, 144, 511 S.E.2d 720, 769 (1998),

cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1142, 119 S.Ct. 1035, 143 L.Ed.2d 43 (1999). Within these legal principles, we examine separately Ms. Reynolds' assignment of error relating to jury instructions.

1. Failure to instruct the jury pursuant to McGraw v. St. Joseph's Hospital. Ms. Reynolds requested the trial court provide an instruction to the jury that expert testimony is unnecessary when determining negligence by allowing a person to fall from a hospital bed. More significantly, Ms. Reynolds contends that this Court's decision in McGraw v. St. Joseph's Hospital, 200 W.Va. 114, 488 S.E.2d 389 (1997), is controlling. In contrast, the defendants contend that McGraw is relevant only at the summary judgment stage and that McGraw was not intended as a basis for giving a jury instruction. We agree.

In McGraw, the plaintiff was twice dropped by hospital personnel. Additionally, he fell out of bed. At issue in McGraw was whether the trial court correctly granted summary judgment against the plaintiff because the plaintiff had no expert to support his claim that the defendant failed to meet the standard of care necessary to prevent the patient from falling out of bed or from being dropped. We rejected the trial court's ruling and held that "[t]he standard of nonmedical, administrative, ministerial or routine care in a hospital need not be established by expert testimony, because the jury is competent from its own experience to determine and apply a reasonable care standard." Syl. pt. 9, McGraw, 200 W.Va. 114, 488 S.E.2d 389. Our holding in McGraw was narrowly confined to the issue of withstanding a motion for summary judgment. It was not intended to be the basis for a jury instruction.³ We need not decide today to what degree, if any, McGraw impacts the trial of a medical malpractice case for two reasons. First, Ms. Reynolds actually presented medical expert testimony from a nurse, Michelle Taylor, and a physician, Dr. Gary Gibson. Unlike McGraw, this was not a situation where the plaintiff had no expert. Each side in this litigation had expert testimony. Most importantly, the trial court gave an adequate instruction regarding the weight to be given to expert testimony. The trial court charged the jury as...