 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Bowie v. Montfort Jones Memorial Hospital12/31/2003
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 06/19/2001
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
DISPOSITION: THE JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF APPEALS IS REVERSED AND THE JUDGMENT OF THE TRIAL COURT IS AFFIRMED - 12/31/2003
EN BANC.
. As a result of the death of Lois Brown (Brown), her heirs filed a medical malpractice action against a hospital, a clinic, and several physicians. In due course, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, thus prompting the Brown heirs to appeal to this Court, which assigned this case to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals, on a 6-4 vote, reversed the trial court's grant of summary judgment and remanded the case to the trial court for a plenary trial on the merits. Bowie v. Montfort Jones Mem'l Hosp ., 850 So. 2d 1210 (Miss. Ct. App. 2002). We granted the defendants' petition for writ of certiorari, and upon consideration of the record before us and the applicable law, we reverse the Court of Appeals' judgment and affirm the trial court's judgment.
FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS IN THE TRIAL COURT
. Lois Brown, age sixty-seven years, was taken by ambulance from her home to Montfort Jones Memorial Hospital in Kosciusko, Mississippi, on June 13, 1998, following a seizure. She had a four-inch laceration to the head. Brown had a history of alcohol-induced seizures and her blood alcohol content that day was .19%. There was evidence that Brown had been consuming both beer and whisky at her home which had no air-conditioning on a day when the heat index had reached 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Brown's condition improved over the next two days but then began to deteriorate. Brown died on June 17, 1998, from a cerebral hemorrhage brought on by heart and lung failure.
. On November 24, 1999, Willie Bowie (Bowie), individually and as representative of Brown's heirs, filed suit against Montfort Jones Memorial Hospital (Montfort Jones), Kosciusko Medical Clinic (Clinic) and several physicians alleging that Montfort Jones, the Clinic and doctors were negligent in failing to provide Brown with a minimal level of care, thereby causing her death.
. The trial judge entered an agreed scheduling order on August 16, 2000, which provided, inter alia, that all discovery, was to be completed by March 1, 2001; that the plaintiffs were to designate experts not later than December 31, 2000; and, that the defendants were to designate experts by January 31, 2001. The order further provided that the deadlines could "not be extended by agreement of the parties, but only by permission of the Court upon showing of good cause." Although the plaintiffs failed to designate experts by the December 31, 2000, deadline, Montfort Jones designated its expert witness on January 26, 2001, and the Clinic and the physicians designated their experts on January 31, 2001. Also, on January 26, 2001, Montfort Jones filed a motion for summary judgment and soon thereafter, the physicians and the Clinic likewise filed motions for summary judgment. These various motions for summary judgment alleged basically that without a medical expert, a prima facie case of medical malpractice could not be made. On February 5, 2001, the plaintiffs designated Dr. Obie NcNair as an expert witness. The Miss. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(4) designation included a statement that Dr. McNair would testify the defendants did not properly monitor Brown, did not administer blood gas tests, did not provide daily electrolytes, and gave Brown too much potassium. On February 28, 2001, the plaintiffs filed Dr. McNair's sworn affidavit which stated his opinion "to a reasonable degree of medical probably , that the death of Mrs. Brown cou
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Mississippi Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
By using the system, you agree to TERMS OF SERVICE
|