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Lagrange v. Schumpert Medical Center6/21/2000
Judgment rendered June 21, 2000.
Application for rehearing may be filed within the delay allowed by art. 2166, La. C.C.P.
In this medical malpractice action, the plaintiff, Wilbert LaGrange, appeals from a trial court judgment sustaining an exception of prescription in favor of the defendant, Schumpert Medical Center. For the following reasons, we affirm.
FACTS
The plaintiff was hospitalized at Schumpert Medical Center (Schumpert) from August 26, 1996 until September 25, 1996, for treatment of peripheral vascular disease with occlusion of the vessels of his left leg. Conservative treatment of the leg was not successful and the limb was amputated below the knee on August 27, 1996. The stump did not heal properly, resulting in an additional amputation above the knee on September 12, 1996. The hospital records reflect that the plaintiff complained that on September 16, 1996, hospital personnel struck the stump of his left leg into a metal bed frame while transferring him from one bed to another.
On September 25, 1996, the plaintiff was transferred to Dubuis Hospital. On October 9, 1996, the plaintiff was brought back to Schumpert for one day where additional surgery was performed on the amputation site. Operative notes indicate that this surgery was necessitated by a breakdown of the site caused by falling on it within a week before this surgery. Apparently the plaintiff was discharged from Dubuis in October 1996.
The plaintiff filed his petition to convene a medical review panel on October 2, 1997. The plaintiff asserts that due to the negligent care he received at Schumpert, he developed a decubitus ulcer on his right heel. He also alleged that as a consequence of the "negligent handling of his person" he further injured his left lower extremity at the original surgery site, causing infection and gangrene and necessitating additional surgeries. Apparently no other action was taken in this matter until November 4, 1998, when Schumpert filed an exception of prescription, pursuant to La. R.S. 40:1299.47B(2)(a). Schumpert asserted that the plaintiff was aware of all instances of alleged negligence as they occurred and that he was discharged from Schumpert on September 25, 1996. Therefore, the filing on October 2, 1997, of the petition to convene a medical review panel shows that his claims have prescribed on the face of the petition. The trial court agreed with Schumpert's reasoning and granted the exception of prescription in a judgment filed September 3, 1999. The plaintiff appealed.
LEGAL PRINCIPLES
We review the factual conclusions of the trial judge under the manifest error/clearly wrong standard of review as articulated in Stobart v. State, Through Department of Transportation and Development, 617 So. 2d 880 (La. 1993). See also Herold v. Martinez, 30,684 (La. App. 2d Cir. 6/24/98), 715 So. 2d 660, writ denied, 98-1932 (La. 11/6/98), 727 So. 2d 448.
Regarding the prescriptive period for medical malpractice claims, La. R.S. 9:5628 provides in pertinent part:
No action for damages for injury or death against any physician, . . . hospital duly licensed under the laws of this state, . . . whether based upon tort, or breach of contract, or otherwise, arising out of patient care shall be brought unless filed within one year from the date of the alleged act, omission, or neglect, or within one year from the date of discovery of the alleged act, omission, or neglect; however, even as to claims filed within one year from the date of such discovery, in all events such claims shall be filed at the latest within a period of three years from the date of the alleged act, omission, or neglec
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