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Shadwell v. Craigie11/1/2004
Heard June 8, 2004
AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART AND REMANDED
Teresa Shadwell appeals the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of James Craigie, M.D., and Loris Surgical Associates (collectively "Respondents") in this medical malpractice action. We affirm in part, reverse in part and remand.
FACTS
In January 1996, Shadwell was referred to Dr. Craigie by her treating physician, Dr. Robert A. Ziff, because she was experiencing lower abdominal pain. Dr. Craigie ordered laboratory tests for Shadwell at Loris Hospital Laboratory prior to performing a colonoscopy. The lab results were reported to Dr. Craigie on January 25, 1996. The results showed Shadwell had an elevated creatinine level, indicating problems with her kidneys. Dr. Craigie performed a colonoscopy on Shadwell on January 26, 1996. Shadwell returned to Dr. Craigie's office for a follow-up examination on February 9, 1996, at which time she complained of abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Shadwell was scheduled to return on March 27, 1996, on a "needs basis - only if she continued to have complaints," but she did not appear for the appointment. Dr. Craigie had no further contact with Shadwell following the February visit. Dr. Craigie never informed Shadwell of the test results indicating problems with her kidneys, nor did he forward the results to Shadwell's treating physician, Dr. Ziff.
In January and February of 1998, while pregnant with her daughter, Shadwell underwent two twenty-four hour kidney tests at Loris Hospital at the direction of Dr. Ziff. These tests revealed her kidneys were functioning at only twenty percent of normal capacity. Following the birth of her daughter, Shadwell's kidney function began to deteriorate, at one point functioning at only eight percent. Because her kidneys were not functioning properly, Shadwell went on dialysis to assist in removing toxins from her blood. On August 14, 2000, Shadwell successfully underwent a kidney transplant.
In 2001, Shadwell filed suit against Dr. Ziff and other physicians who provided treatment during her pregnancy. One of the grounds for the lawsuit was that Dr. Ziff failed to properly diagnose her condition after receiving the results from the 1998 kidney function tests.
During the course of preparing for the case against Dr. Ziff, the parties took several depositions including that of Shadwell, Dr. Ziff, and Dr. Craigie. It is not clear from the record when Shadwell learned of the January 1996 lab results showing elevated creatinine levels. During Dr. Craigie's August 17, 2001 deposition, he confirmed the January 1996 lab results. During Shadwell's September 12, 2001 deposition, she testified that she learned at Duke Hospital in late 1998 that she should have been made aware of prior lab results. It is not altogether clear whether she was referring to the results from Dr. Craigie's 1996 lab tests or from the tests performed early in 1998 during her pregnancy. During Dr. Ziff's October 17, 2001 deposition, he was shown the results from the January 1996 tests for the first time.
Shadwell commenced the current action against Dr. Craigie and Loris Surgical Associates on March 4, 2002, alleging, among other things, that Dr. Craigie was negligent in: (1) failing to discuss these lab results with her, and (2) failing to forward a copy of the results to Dr. Ziff, as her referring physician, or to inform any of Shadwell's other physicians of the abnormal results. Shadwell alleged in her complaint that she first became aware of Dr. Craigie's negligence when she received discovery in the prior case. Specifically, she stated " hat until August 17, 2001, was unaware that any duty had been b
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