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Robinson v. Health Midwest Development Group3/6/2001
Appeal From: Circuit Court of Jackson County, Hon. David Shinn, Judge
Opinion Vote: REVERSED AND REMANDED.
Spinden, C.J., and Ulrich, J., concur.
Opinion:
Felicia N. Robinson appeals the summary judgment of the circuit court for the respondent, Health Midwest Development Group, on her negligence claim against it for damages for the personal injuries she sustained in an automobile accident on November 17, 1993. In her petition, the appellant alleged that the respondent was negligent based on various acts and omissions of its medical staff in providing treatment of and care for Verlea Rosemary Schmidt, who, after being given a prescription drug that was known to the staff to cause drowsiness and dizziness, drove from the respondent's facility, crossed the center line of the roadway, and collided head-on with the appellant's vehicle, causing her injury .
The appellant raises two points on appeal. In Point I, she claims that the trial court erred in granting the respondent's motion for summary judgment on her negligence claim against it based on there being no duty of care owed by the respondent because, as a matter of law, on the undisputed material facts alleged by the respondent and the facts still in dispute, a reasonable fact finder could find such a duty existed. In Point II, she claims that the trial court erred in granting the respondent's motion for summary judgment on her negligence claim for lack of causation because, as a matter of law, on the undisputed material facts alleged by the respondent and the facts still in dispute, a fact finder could reasonably find that the respondent's acts or omissions in its treatment and care of Schmidt were the direct and proximate cause of the appellant's personal injuries sustained in the accident.
We reverse and remand.
Facts
On November 17, 1993, at approximately 12:42 p.m., Rosemary V. Schmidt presented herself at the emergency room of the Lafayette Regional Health Center (LRHC) located in Jackson County, Missouri, requesting medication for her nerves. Roxanne Nordsieck, the staff nurse on duty, questioned Schmidt about her symptoms and complaints, and checked her vital signs. Thereafter, Nordsieck referred Schmidt to a staff physician, Dr. Timothy Ryan, for examination and evaluation. During his examination of Schmidt, Dr. Ryan determined that she was coherent, not impaired in any way, and neither homicidal nor suicidal. Following the examination, Dr. Ryan directed Nordsieck to give Schmidt an injection of five milligrams of Compazine, a drug known to medical personnel to cause drowsiness, dizziness, and the lowering of blood pressure.
At approximately 1:10 p.m., Nordsieck intravenously administered five milligrams of Compazine to Schmidt. Neither Dr. Ryan nor Nordsieck warned Schmidt, either before or after administering the drug, that she might experience certain side effects, including drowsiness, dizziness, or a lowering of her blood pressure, as a consequence of having taken the Compazine, and that therefore, she should not drive. Nordsieck only advised Schmidt that she was "receiving something for her headache." Thereafter, at approximately 1:45 p.m., without being formally discharged from the LRHC, Schmidt left and proceeded to drive herself home. At 1:55 p.m., ten minutes after leaving the emergency room at LRHC, some seven miles away from the facility, Schmidt's vehicle crossed the center line of Missouri Highway 13 and collided with a vehicle being driven by the appellant on a straightaway portion of the road. The appellant sustained serious physical injuries from the accident.
The appellant tried to avoid the accident by
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