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Oliveaux v. St. Francis Medical Center12/15/2004
The plaintiff, Loyd Donald Oliveaux (represented by his sister, Jennifer O. Berry, and referred to herein as "Oliveaux"), appeals a jury verdict that rejected his wrongful death claims against St. Francis Medical Center, Dr. Camille Perkins, and the State of Louisiana, Department of Social Services, Child Protection Service ("CPS"), for the death of his 23-month-old daughter, Haley. Oliveaux urges that the jury charge and other procedural errors tainted the jury's consideration of the case, mandating a de novo review of the record. For the reasons expressed, we affirm.
Factual Background
Haley was born in January 1992. By late 1993, her father, Oliveaux, was separated from her mother, Allison Oliveaux ("Allison"), and was in the Ouachita Correctional Center on a probation violation. Haley was spending part of her time with Allison's parents, the Laytons, and the rest with Allison and her boyfriend, Jimmie Christian Duncan. Haley had to spend considerable time with Duncan, as he apparently stayed at the couple's West Monroe apartment while Allison was at work.
On November 29, 1993, Duncan took Haley to her pediatrician, Dr. Bulloch, with a swollen scalp and forehead. Duncan said that while trying to reach a piggy bank placed on a chest of drawers, Haley had stepped on the open bottom drawer and the whole chest fell over; the child had landed on the floor with the chest on top of her. Dr. Bulloch immediately sent Haley to St. Francis, where CT scans showed she had fractures on three different parts of her skull and a subdural hematoma. At trial, several physicians testified that injuries this severe could not have been accidental, and were in fact more consistent with "shaken infant syndrome."
Haley spent four days in the St. Francis pediatric intensive care unit ("PICU") and then two more on the pediatric floor. During this time, family members grew suspicious of Duncan's account of the injuries; on December 2, Allison's father, Bill Layton, related their concerns to Dr. Perkins, director of the PICU. Dr. Perkins called a St. Francis social worker, Sister June Myer, who in turn called CPS and requested an investigation. Apparently Sr. June failed to report, or the CPS intake worker failed to record, that Haley had three skull fractures, because CPS designated the case a "Level III" priority, "unspecified physical abuse," rather than "Level I" or "high priority." CPS assigned the case to a case worker, Connie Griffon (now known as Connie Pace), on the afternoon of December 2.
The next day, December 3, Ms. Pace and West Monroe Police Detective Tim Zeigler held several interviews at St. Francis. Sister June told them Duncan's version of the accident, but said she had noticed no "inappropriate conduct" at the hospital by either Allison or Duncan; the Laytons were irritated because they were not allowed in PICU while Duncan was. Dr. Perkins told them that Haley had three skull fractures and numerous bruises, but that these were consistent with the history; she suspected not child abuse, but friction between Duncan and the Laytons. Ms. Pace and Det. Zeigler also interviewed two PICU nurses, neither of whom voiced any concern about child abuse; one of them, Nurse Strickland, said Haley called Duncan "daddy." They also interviewed Mr. Layton, who admitted he was "not crazy about" Duncan and did not see how the child could be so seriously hurt by a falling chest of drawers, but did not say he suspected Duncan of child abuse. Allison's sister, Carole Gwin, told them there was much violence between Allison and Duncan, but she had never seen any marks on Haley.
Later that afternoon, Ms. Pace and Det. Zeigler interviewed Allison and Duncan at the West
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