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George H. Lanier Memorial Hospital v. Andrews11/19/2004
George H. Lanier Memorial Hospital ("the hospital") and Jason Ivey, R.N., appeal from the denial of a renewed motion for a judgment as a matter of law and the denial of their motion for remittitur or, alternatively, for a new trial. A jury found the hospital and Ivey liable for the negligent or wanton removal of the corneas of a deceased minor and awarded $200,000 in compensatory damages. We affirm.
On December 21, 1996, Cynthia Shealey brought her 12-year-old son Steven Shealey to the hospital's emergency room; Steven was suffering from a severe asthma attack. At approximately 6:28 a.m. that morning, Steven died as the result of cardiac arrest secondary to the asthma attack.
After Cynthia was notified of Steven's death, nurse Jeani West requested that Cynthia sign various forms; among those forms was a form necessary to release Steven's body to a funeral home, which Cynthia signed at 7:20 a.m. West also asked whether Cynthia would like to donate any of Steven's organs. Ivey, a nurse who had come on duty around 6:45 a.m., was standing nearby and overheard the conversation between West and Cynthia. He testified that Cynthia expressed to West a willingness to donate Steven's organs. Another nurse, Shannon Strength, also saw West and Cynthia talking, but did not hear their discussion. Cynthia testified that when West asked her about organ donation, she simply stated that it "really didn't matter."
West began searching for an organ-donation consent form, and because she could not immediately find the form, she led Cynthia to a nearby room, known as the "quiet room," where Cynthia waited for West to return. After approximately 20 minutes, Cynthia left the quiet room, informed West that she was leaving the hospital, and departed. Shortly thereafter, West's shift ended. At this time, Ivey took over as the charge nurse.
Unaware that Cynthia had left the hospital, Ivey took an organ- donation consent form to the quiet room for Cynthia's signature. Discovering that Cynthia had left the hospital, Ivey proceeded on the assumption that Cynthia desired to donate Steven's organs, although Ivey did not regard Cynthia's earlier statements as unequivocally manifesting consent.
Ivey telephoned the Alabama Organ Center, representing that Steven was "a potential donor." The Alabama Organ Center notified Ivey that Steven did not qualify for organ donation and suggested that Ivey telephone the Alabama Eye Bank ("the Eye Bank").
Ivey directed Strength to telephone the Eye Bank, which she did. Strength left a message with the Eye Bank's answering service. Shortly thereafter, at approximately 9:00 a.m., Paul Cau, an employee of the Eye Bank, telephoned the hospital and spoke with Ivey. Ivey informed Cau that the hospital had "a possible [cornea] donor" and that he was in the process of obtaining telephone consent for the organ donation. After some discussion, the two determined that the consent form the hospital had on file for the Eye Bank was outdated. Cau faxed an updated form to the hospital, directed to Ivey's attention.
While these events were occurring at the hospital, Cynthia drove to the home of Steven's father, Steven Andrews, to inform him of their son's death. She arrived at Andrews's house around 8:00 a.m. She informed Andrews of Steven's death, and some 30 minutes later, when he prepared to go to the hospital, she left for her house. Cynthia arrived at her house, which was approximately a 15-minute drive from Andrews's house, at roughly 9:00 a.m. Andrews, meanwhile, left for the hospital, where he arrived around 9:00 a.m.
At the hospital, between 9:00 a.m. and 9:20 a.m., Ivey received the faxed copy of the updated consen
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