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Froisy v. Salama2/28/2001
NED E. DOUCET, JR. CHIEF JUDGE
Peters, J., concurs and assigns written reasons.
AFFIRMED.
The Plaintiff, Alton Froisy, appeals the dismissal of his claim for damages arising out of medical malpractice and false imprisonment.
On April 1, 1995, Froisy's wife of forty-eight years, Rena Froisy, had the assistant coroner for Iberia Parish, Dr. Gerald Elias, issue an Order for Protective Custody by alleging that her husband was an alcoholic and physically abusive to her. Pursuant to the order, Froisy was taken into custody by officers of the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office and taken to Vermillion Hospital where he remained for three days before being released. On July 2, 1997, the Plaintiff filed suit against Dr. Samir Salama, among others. In his petition, he alleged that Dr. Salama, his wife's psychiatrist, gave false information to Dr. Elias which caused him to issue an Order for Protective Custody.
After hearing the evidence, the court dismissed Froisy's claim finding that he had failed to carry his burden of proof. Froisy appeals asserting one assignment of error:
The trial judge erred in failing to find that the defendant/appellee committed medical malpractice which resulted in the plaintiff/appellant being wrongfully imprisoned and suffering damages as a consequence thereof.
In a medical malpractice action, the plaintiff has the burden, pursuant to La.R.S. 9:2794(A), of proving:
(1) The degree of knowledge or skill possessed or the degree of care ordinarily exercised by physicians, dentists, optometrists, or chiropractic physicians licensed to practice in the state of Louisiana and actively practicing in a similar community or locale and under similar circumstances; and where the defendant practices in a particular specialty and where the alleged acts of medical negligence raise issues peculiar to the particular medical specialty involved, then the plaintiff has the burden of proving the degree of care ordinarily practiced by physicians, dentists, optometrists, or chiropractic physicians within the involved medical specialty.
(2) That the defendant either lacked this degree of knowledge or skill or failed to use reasonable care and diligence, along with his best judgment in the application of that skill.
(3) That as a proximate result of this lack of knowledge or skill or the failure to exercise this degree of care the plaintiff suffered injuries that would not otherwise have been incurred.
It is undisputed, having been confirmed by her psychiatrist and her daughter, that, at the time the Order was issued and for a considerable number of years previously, Rena Froisy had suffered from a mental illness diagnosed by Dr. Salama as bi-polar disorder. The Plaintiff alleges that Dr. Salama breached the standard of care by giving incorrect information to the assistant coroner. At the hearing, Dr. Elias testified that on April 1, 1995, Rena Froisy asked him to issue an order for protective custody (OPC) for her husband, Alton Froisy. He explained that "an order for protective custody is a legal document that guarantees that any person can ask that someone be detained briefly for an evaluation for mental competency." He further explained that in situations where one spouse asks that an OPC be issued for the other, he asks for corroborating evidence because of the possibility that the request arises from a domestic dispute rather than a real concern as to mental competency. He stated that when he saw Mrs. Froisy he was suspicious and asked for corroboration. She suggested that he call Dr. Salama. He described his contact with Dr. Salama as follows:
Initially,
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