U. of Ms. Medical Center v. Pounders

• Decision Date: 06 December 2007
• Docket Number: No. 2006-CA-01371-SCT.,2006-CA-01371-SCT.
• Citation: 970 So.2d 141
• Parties: UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER v. Melba POUNDERS.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

970 So.2d 141

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER v. Melba POUNDERS.

No. 2006-CA-01371-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

December 6, 2007.

Anastasia G. Jones, James A. Becker, Jr., Corey Donald Hinshaw, Jackson, attorneys for appellant.

George F. Hollowell, Jr., Greenville, attorney for appellee.

Before DIAZ, P.J., DICKINSON and LAMAR, JJ.

DICKINSON, Justice, for the Court.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

¶ 1. This is a Mississippi Tort Claims Act¹ suit filed against the University of Mississippi Medical Center ("UMC"). The court awarded the plaintiff $150,000, together with pre-judgment interest. We affirm the award of damages, but reverse the award of pre-judgment interest.

BACKGROUND FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

¶ 2. On April 12, 1998, Melba Pounders was admitted to UMC, complaining of difficulty in walking and maintaining balance. A magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRI) revealed a brain tumor as the cause of her physical problems. After the tumor was surgically removed, Pounders seemed to be recovering well. Although she had no problem breathing, she experienced some difficulty swallowing. She underwent a chest X-ray, which indicated that her lungs were normal. Due to her difficulty with swallowing and the risk of aspiration, Pounders was given a feeding tube for nutrition. She was transferred from the intensive care unit to a regular hospital room on April 16, 1998.

¶ 3. According to the testimony of several witnesses, Pounders was alert, oriented, talking, and in good spirits between April 16 and April 19. She was scheduled to be discharged from the hospital and admitted to the Methodist Rehabilitation Center within a few days.

¶ 4. On April 19, Danny Teague, an employee of UMC, escorted Pounders from her room to the ultrasound department. Although Pounders was receiving oxygen at the time, Teague had no training in transporting patients who were receiving oxygen, nor had he received training in how to connect or disconnect a patient's oxygen apparatus.

¶ 5. When Pounders returned from the ultrasound department, Jerry and Barbara Gibson and Pounder's husband, Gorman Pounders, were waiting in her room. According to these witnesses, Teague put the humidifier bottle, which was connected to Pounders's oxygen line, on the bed. The humidifier bottle turned upside down, allowing water to enter the oxygen line. When Gorman Pounders realized water was running into his wife's nose and mouth, he removed the nasal tube to stop the water from continuing to run into her body.

¶ 6. Later that night, a nurse attempted to suction the water from Pounders's lungs. Although this attempt appeared to be successful in part, Pounders still experienced respiratory distress. On April 21, Pounders suddenly developed a fever. A chest x-ray revealed that she had contracted pneumonia. Her conditioned worsened, and she was transferred back to the ICU for treatment. At this time, oxygen saturation tests showed that her lungs were deprived of oxygen.

¶ 7. Pounders filed suit against UMC alleging medical negligence. At trial, Dr. Ravi Pande, a neurologist, testified that when sterile water passes through the throat and oral areas, it becomes unsterile and contaminated with bacteria, and if water contaminated with bacteria enters a patient's lungs, it can cause aspiration pneumonia. Dr. Pande testified that, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, Pounders aspirated some of the liquid that got into her oxygen tube, and the aspiration of this fluid caused her pneumonia. Dr. Pande explained that, although other factors related to her surgery and medication made her more susceptible to developing pneumonia, the aspiration was the event which triggered the pneumonia.

¶ 8. UMC's expert, Dr. William Pinkston, disagreed. He opined that complications from surgery, rather than the aspiration of fluid, caused the pneumonia. Dr. Pinkston admitted, however, that the high fever and low oxygen saturation Pounders experienced were symptoms of respiratory distress. In a bench trial, Judge Winston Kidd found Dr. Pande's opinions were more consistent with the medical records and other evidence, and determined that UMC was negligent in its care of Pounders.

¶ 9. The trial court then addressed damages. Dr. Pande testified that as a result of aspirating the fluid, Pounders's condition deteriorated, she developed pneumonia, and her treatment took longer than it otherwise would have. He also testified to the amount of her medical bills at the time of the alleged incident and the increase in her bills as a result of her pneumonia. In addition, evidence was presented that before the incident, Pounders was doing well and was about to be released from the hospital.

¶ 10. After the incident, Pounders was readmitted to ICU, was treated with antibiotics, underwent a tracheotomy, was placed on a ventilator, experienced pain and discomfort, and feared that she would lose her life. The trial court found that prior to the incident, Pounders incurred only $38,000 in medical bills. After the incident, her medical bills increased to $152,000. In addition, her medical records indicate that she was in considerable pain following the incident, and that she was prescribed powerful pain medications. The trial court found that because Pounders was about to be discharged from the hospital before the incident, her increased medical bills and pain were a direct result of the incident. The court awarded Pounders damages in the amount of $150,000 plus legal interest from the date of judicial demand. After being denied relief through post-trial motions, UMC appealed.

ANALYSIS

I.

¶ 11. In bench trials, a circuit judge's findings are subject to the same standard of review as those of a chancellor. Kight v. Sheppard Bldg. Supply, Inc., 537 So.2d 1355, 1358 (Miss.1989). Accordingly, the standard of review is the manifest error/substantial evidence rule. Miss. State Tax Comm'n v. Med. Devices, 624 So.2d 987, 989 (Miss.1993). UMC argues that the findings of fact and conclusion of law adopted by the trial court were copied virtually verbatim from the proposed findings of fact submitted by the Plaintiff, and thus, a heightened level of scrutiny should apply. Kerr-McGee Chem. Corp. v. Buelow, 670 So.2d 12, 16 (Miss.1995). Mississippi courts have applied heightened scrutiny only in two circumstances. First, heightened scrutiny is applied when a party's entire proposal is adopted verbatim. Delta Reg'l Med. Ctr. v. Venton, 964 So.2d 500, 504 (Miss.2007); Miss. Dept. of Transp. v. Johnson, 873 So.2d 108, 111 (Miss.2004). Heightened scrutiny also is applied when the court makes only minor alterations to a party's proposed findings. Smith v. Orman, 822 So.2d 975, 977-78 (Miss. Ct.App.2002).

¶ 12. In this case, the court made substantial alterations to the proposed findings submitted by the plaintiff. These alterations indicate the trial court gave the case careful review and formed its own opinion. This Court has specifically stated that trial judges are allowed to adopt portions of proposed findings submitted by parties so long as the findings are not adopted verbatim. City of Greenville v. Jones, 925 So.2d 106, 116 (Miss.2006). Because the trial judge did not adopt the proposed findings verbatim, the manifest error/substantial evidence standard of review will apply. Miss. State Tax Comm'n v. Med. Devices, 624 So.2d 987, 989 (Miss. 1993).

¶ 13. The standard of review for the admission or exclusion of evidence is abuse of discretion. Church of God Pentecostal, Inc. v. Freewill Pentecostal Church of God, Inc., 716 So.2d 200, 210 (Miss. 1998). A trial judge's decision as to whether a witness is qualified to testify as an expert is given the widest possible discretion. Smith v. State, 925 So.2d 825, 834 (Miss.2006).

¶ 14. The issues before this Court may be summarized as follows: (1) Whether the trial court erred in admitting the testimony of Plaintiff's expert, Dr. Pande; (2) whether the trial court erred in relying solely on the expert opinion of Dr. Pande; (3) whether a finding of fact made by the trial court was based on substantial evidence; (4) whether the trial court's order is supported by substantial evidence; (5) whether the order of the trial court should be reversed because the plaintiff failed to establish an applicable standard of care; (6) whether the final judgment of the trial court should be reversed because it awarded prejudgment interest.

II.

Did the trial court err in admitting the testimony of Plaintiff's expert, Dr. Pande?

¶ 15. Mississippi law requires the trial court to ensure that proposed testimony satisfies Rule 702 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence. Donaldson v. Covington County, 846 So.2d 219, 226 (Miss.2003). Rule 702 provides:

If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.

Miss R. Evid. 702.

¶ 16. The only evidence offered by UMC to attack the basis of Dr. Pande's opinion is the statement by its own expert, Dr. Pinkston, that medical journals have stated that aspiration of sterile water does not cause pneumonia. The trial judge, not finding this testimony persuasive, admitted Dr. Pande's testimony. A trial judge's decision as to whether a witness is qualified to testify as an expert is given the widest possible discretion. Smith v. State, 925 So.2d 825, 834 (Miss.2006).

¶ 17. UMC also argues that, because Dr. Pande is not a pulmonologist, he should not be allowed to opine on matters concerning aspiration pneumonia. However, a witness need not be a specialist in any particular...