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Unkel v. W.O. Moss Regional Hospital12/10/2003
PUBLISHED
AFFIRMED.
Karen Unkel filed this medical malpractice action against Dr. Nguyen Nguyen, W.O. Moss Medical Center, and the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals after sustaining injuries while hospitalized at Moss Regional. Summary judgment on the issues of liability and causation was granted in Unkel's favor and against the hospital and the State. Subsequently, the trial court awarded the statutory cap of $500,000.00 in damages, also via summary judgment, against the same defendants. Dr. Nguyen was dismissed. Both the defendants and Unkel have appealed, Unkel asserting the trial court erred in dismissing Dr. Nguyen, and the State and hospital arguing that material issues of fact remain which should have precluded both summary judgments. For the reasons which follow, we affirm.
In brief, the State and the hospital urge this court to reverse both the judgment rendered against them on the issues of liability and causation and the judgment awarding damages. Counsel for the defendants, however, has appealed only the March 28, 2003 judgment awarding damages. Consequently, the prior judgment wherein the State and the hospital were found to be liable for a breach in the standard of care which caused the plaintiff's damages is a final judgment and is not now before us for review.
On the issue of damages, the plaintiff's evidence reveals the following undisputed facts. Unkel was injured at the hospital when a fellow psychiatric patient attacked her, during which attack she sustained a serious blow to the head. The attacker was an inmate from the Calcasieu Parish jail. Unkel was transported to the emergency department of the hospital where she was examined and diagnosed with soft tissue injuries.
After two years of continuing problems, Unkel was diagnosed with, among other conditions, a subdural hematoma attributed to the injury received at Moss Regional. Unkel then filed a medical malpractice claim asserting that hospital employees were negligent in failing to prevent the attack which resulted in her damages. Specifically, she asserted the hospital failed to follow its own rules and procedures to safeguard her from a violent, aggressive fellow patient. A medical review panel was convened. The panel ruled that the defendants were liable in medical malpractice and the malpractice caused the plaintiff's psychiatric and physical injuries. Specifically concerning Dr. Nguyen, however, the panel determined that his breach of the standard of care did not cause the plaintiff's injuries because he was not the attacker's treating physician. Following that decision, this suit was initiated.
The plaintiff, now in her 40s, has a long history of mental illness and depression for which she receives ongoing treatment. The medical records indicate that prior to the attack, Unkel was capable of attending college and had as her goal a nursing career. However, as a result of her continued problems after the injury at Moss Regional, Unkel was unable to finish college and is incapable of holding a job. This was the consensus of the professionals who evaluated Unkel after her injury; they included a neurologist, a physical medicine specialist, a neuropsychologist, and a vocational rehabilitationist. The medical records further indicate that in addition to the subdural hematoma, Unkel sustained a brain injury and lacerations in the attack, and she suffers from brain dysfunction, cognitive deficits, post-concussion syndrome with migraines, neck and back pain, and an exacerbation of pre-existing major depression and anxiety disorders. Unkel presented evidence of past medical expenses totaling $108,596.78 and future medical costs estimated at $310,401.00. Unke
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