Romine v. Medicenters of America, Inc.
| Citation | 476 So.2d 51 |
| Parties | Dorise ROMINE, as Administratrix of the Estate of Edith O. Brooks, Deceased v. MEDICENTERS OF AMERICA, INC., and Jerry Lewis, M.D. 83-1389. |
| Decision Date | 30 August 1985 |
| Court | Supreme Court of Alabama |
P. Russell Tarver of Tarver & Veigas, Birmingham, for appellant.
Mark W. Lee of McDaniel, Hall, Parsons, Conerly & Lusk, Birmingham, for appellee Medicenters of America, Inc.
Roy W. Scholl, Jr. and William T. Mills, II of Porterfield, Scholl, Bainbridge, Mims & Harper, Birmingham, for appellee Jerry Lewis, M.D.
This is a medical malpractice case. The plaintiff, Dorise Romine, as administratrix of the estate of her mother, Edith Brooks, filed suit against defendants Medicenters of America, Inc., and Jerry Lewis, M.D., alleging negligence in the treatment and care of her mother. The case was tried before a jury, which returned a verdict in favor of both defendants. From a judgment entered on that verdict, the plaintiff appeals. We affirm.
In February of 1977, Edith Brooks was admitted as a patient to Lloyd Noland Hospital in Birmingham, where she was diagnosed and treated for pneumonia. In May of that year, following her release from the hospital, she fell at home and sustained a fracture to her hip. She was treated for this injury at Lloyd Noland. Following her discharge from the hospital, she suffered a stroke and, on July 5, 1977, was admitted to the University of Alabama Medical Center in Birmingham (UAB), where she remained until July 27, 1977. Her treating physician at UAB was Dr. Frank Bonikowski, who diagnosed her as suffering from, inter alia, a subarchnoid hemorrhage, thrombophlebitis of the right leg, anemia, dementia, and organic heart disease.
A subarchnoid hemorrhage involves bleeding into or around the brain. In Dr. Bonikowski's opinion, the most probable cause of Edith Brooks's hemorrhage was the rupture of a Berry aneurysm. Such an aneurysm is a weakening of the wall of a blood vessel. With elevated blood pressure, the vessel is subject to rupture. Dr. Bonikowski became concerned that a "rebleed" of the aneurysm might occur. The statistical rate of a "rebleed" is high and carries with it a significant mortality rate. To prevent a "rebleed," surgery was indicated, during which the weakened portion of the blood vessel would be clipped. Because of her overall condition, Edith Brooks was determined ineligible for this surgical procedure. Consequently, she was discharged from UAB to Medicenter, an extended care facility in Birmingham. Her treating physician at Medicenter was Dr. Jerry Lewis, who testified as to her condition upon admittance as follows:
Subsequent to her discharge from Medicenter, Edith Brooks was cared for by nurses in the home of a member of her family. She remained there approximately nine days before, once again, being admitted to Lloyd Noland Hospital, where she died on November 5, 1977. No autopsy was performed.
At trial, the plaintiff presented evidence tending to show that Edith Brooks died as a result of a blood infection 1 and malnutrition caused by the negligent treatment and care of the defendants. The defendants presented evidence to the contrary tending to show that Edith Brooks was properly cared for and that her death resulted from other causes. One of the defendants' witnesses was Dr. Bonikowski, whose testimony was taken by deposition and read to the jury. During cross examination by plaintiff's counsel, the following transpired pertaining to Dr. Bonikowski's previous contacts with Roy Scholl, attorney for Dr. Lewis:
The plaintiff contends that Dr. Bonikowski's deposition testimony was rendered inadmissible as a result of the contacts which he had with counsel for Dr. Lewis prior to the taking of his deposition. She does not argue that his testimony was inadmissible absent these contacts, 2 only that she, as the representative of her mother's estate, did not authorize them, and, consequently, that the trial court erred to reversal in denying her pre-trial motion to exclude his testimony. We disagree.
In Doe v. Eli Lilly & Co., 99 F.R.D. 126 (D.D.C.1983), the court, construing the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, stated:
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