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Rehabilitative Care System of America v. Davis3/28/2001
Rehabilitative Care Systems of America (RCSA) appeals the trial court's judgment awarding Robert Jerry Davis and Kathy Davis $121,949.92, plus post-judgment interest and court costs, in a medical malpractice action. An additional defendant, Baylor Medical Center of Gilmer, was found not liable and is not a party to this appeal.
Statement of Facts
Robert Jerry Davis was a resident of Winnsboro, Texas, and at the time of the trial of this cause was fifty-two years old and was employed as a truck driver for Palestine Contractors at East Mountain.
In October of 1991, Davis and another man were operating their own business hauling saltwater for the oil and gas industry, Davis's job involving the driving of a truck. While so employed, he was pulling a load off the highway and onto a side road. The culvert had washed out on the side road, and when his truck hit the affected area, he was caused to bounce against the ceiling and door inside the truck cab, injuring his shoulder.
Davis was treated for his injuries by Dr. James Harris of Tyler, Texas, who diagnosed Davis's injury as an "impingement" in his left shoulder. After trying more conservative treatment, including physical therapy, and after an MRI examination, Dr. Harris ultimately performed arthroscopic surgery on Davis's shoulder in 1992. Davis testified he was not advised by Dr. Harris after the surgery that he had a torn rotator cuff. Dr. Harris then recommended that Davis undergo physical therapy in order to strengthen his arm and shoulder so he could return to work. Davis wanted the physical therapy done at Baylor Medical Center in Gilmer, where he had previously undergone physical therapy and had been favorably impressed.
While Dr. Harris continued as the supervising physician, Davis's physical therapy treatment was overseen by Johnny Lee-On, a licensed physical therapist, and Penney Downey, a college student intern training to be a physical therapist assistant, and a third person who functioned in a capacity similar to a secretary. Davis estimated that Lee-On oversaw about seventy-five percent of his therapy and Downey about twenty-five percent. Davis testified that in overseeing his therapy, both therapists would be physically present in the treatment room, within sight of him. When first beginning physical therapy, Davis said that his arm was very weak, with almost no strength, but that as his treatment progressed, his strength gradually returned and he was able to better perform tasks in the physical therapy treatment and personal tasks at home.
On June 10, 1992, Davis was continuing his physical therapy on a machine referred to as the "Total Gym," which he described as:
asically a board with an elevating type deal that would slide to pull your body weight with a series of cables and pulleys and a handlebar type deal to use to pull your arms down to do the weights -- to pull your body weight to build your body up, set at different levels for different weights.
He admits that Lee-On and the other physical therapy personnel instructed him on how to use the Total Gym, and that one of these people normally stayed with him while he was performing his exercises. Davis had been using the Total Gym for four to six weeks prior to the incident in question, and testified that he "knew how to do it." On the date in question, he had finished performing his first set of exercises and was going on to the second set. At that time, he noticed that the machine was pulling harder than usual. He told Downey about the problems, and she assisted him in lowering the machine back down. Downey then made some adjustments to the machine, which Davis testified he could
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