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Estate of Llewellyn v. Genesis Medical Center11/15/2004
An estate administrator appeals following a jury verdict in favor of a hospital. AFFIRMED.
The administrator of the Estate of Joan Llewellyn appeals following a jury verdict in favor of Genesis Medical Center. The administrator contends the trial court erred in instructing the jury and in barring a physician from testifying regarding the standard of care for nurses. We affirm.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
Joan Llewellyn suffered a heart attack on November 29, 1998. On December 6, 1998, Dr. Bouyella Reddy, associated with Heartcare Midwest, S.C. (Heartcare), performed an angioplasty on Llewellyn at Genesis Medical Center (Genesis). On December 7 and 8, 1998, Llewellyn's nursing care at Genesis was performed by nurses Kelli Kuntz-Soucie and Stacey Kelly.
At 8:15 p.m. on December 7 Kuntz-Soucie made a notation in Llewellyn's chart regarding right groin oozing and a rash on Llewellyn's back and buttocks. Although the chart indicated a phone call was made to "Dr. Reddy," Dr. Bouyella Reddy did not recall receiving the phone call. He believed the call may have been taken by Dr. Sora Reddy, another physician at Heartcare. At approximately 10:00 p.m. Llewellyn's daughter informed Kuntz-Soucie that her mother was experiencing back pain. Kuntz-Soucie repositioned Llewellyn and administered Tylenol. Llewellyn continued to complain of back pain and generalized discomfort, and at 11:00 p.m. Kuntz-Soucie administered a Darvocet tablet.
Kelly took over Llewellyn's nursing care at 11:00 p.m. on December 7. At approximately 12:01 a.m. on December 8 Kelly noted Llewellyn was yelling out in pain, and had rated her pain at ten out of ten. Kelly repositioned Llewellyn and gave her morphine. She did not contact a doctor at that time, as she wanted to allow the pain medication time to work.
At approximately 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. on December 8 Kelly called Dr. Sora Reddy, and reported that Llewllyn was having abdominal, flank and generalized pain, that she was attempting to get the pain under control, and that Llewellyn's vital signs and level of consciousness were within the normal range. Dr. Sora Reddy told Kelly to call Dr. Bouyella Reddy. Because Kelly wanted to present Dr. Bouyella Reddy with additional information, she took an additional set of vital signs and ordered lab work. Kelly called Dr. Bouyella Reddy sometime between 2:00 and 3:30 a.m. At 3:40 a.m. Dr. Bouyella Reddy issued Kelly orders for Llewellyn's care. The orders included a CT scan, which revealed a retroperitoneal bleed. A blood transfusion was started at 6:45 a.m. Llewellyn's condition continued to deteriorate, and she died on December 9.
Mary Johnson, administrator of the Estate of Joan Llewellyn, filed a survival and wrongful death action against Genesis, Dr. Bouyella Reddy, and Heartcare. The claims against Genesis alleged, in pertinent part, that Genesis, by and through its agents and employees, had breached a professional standard of care, in that it "perforated an ilio-femoral vessel of [Llewellyn], and failed to thereafter recognize, diagnose and correct such perforation . . . [, and] failed to timely diagnosis and treat [Llewellyn's] paroxysmal artial tachacardia (PAT) and large retroperitoneal hemorrhage." Similar claims were made against Dr. Bouyella Reddy and Heartcare.
At trial the defendants offered evidence Llewellyn's death was not caused by the retroperitoneal hemorrhage; that the hemorrhage was diagnosed and treated in time; that Llewellyn's death was caused by, and her pain was consistent with, an untreatable, irreversible ischemic bowel; and that even if treatment had been administered at 1:00 a.m. or even 12:01 a.m. on December 8, it wou
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