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Mobile Infirmary Mudical Center v. Hodgen10/31/2003
al act is not involved in wantonness, which may consist of an inadvertent failure to act by a person with knowledge that someone is probably in peril and the act or failure to act is in reckless disregard of the consequences. ...'"
English v. Jacobs, 263 Ala. 376, 379, 82 So. 2d 542, 545 (1955). Thus, in order to support his claim that the overdose was the result of wantonness in the administration of the digoxin, Hodgen was not required to show that Espiritu and Byrd acted with an intent to harm him. Instead, Hodgen merely had to produce clear and convincing evidence demonstrating that Espiritu and Byrd, while conscious of the potential danger of their actions, acted with reckless disregard as to the consequences of those actions.
In Walker v. Humana Medical Corp., 415 So. 2d 1107 (Ala. Civ. App. 1982), the Court of Civil Appeals upheld a wantonness claim against a phlebotomist, a hospital employee responsible for taking blood samples, when, in preparation for giving a blood transfusion to Billy Walker, she mistakenly took a blood sample from another patient, believing that she had obtained a blood sample from Walker. Witnesses testified that when the phlebotomist took the blood sample from the wrong patient, she did not check the patient's armband for his name, she did not call the patient by name, and she did not ask the patient what his name was. As a result, the phlebotomist matched the wrong blood type for the transfusion and Walker received a transfusion of blood that was not his blood type.
The Court of Civil Appeals held that Walker had produced sufficient evidence demonstrating that the phlebotomist was conscious of the potential danger of her actions. The phlebotomist was aware of the complications that occur from a transfusion of incompatible blood and she was aware of the crucial need to correctly identify the patients from whom she was taking blood samples to prevent such complications. The court held that, despite her knowledge of the danger of complications, however, the phlebotomist acted in reckless disregard of Walker's health when, in preparation for Walker's transfusion, she took a blood sample from a patient without making any effort to determine whether that patient was actually the patient scheduled to receive the transfusion. Because Walker demonstrated that the phlebotomist "had knowledge of the conditions which would make her conscious act of drawing blood from a patient she had not identified likely to cause injury ," the Court of Civil Appeals upheld the jury's verdict as to Walker's wantonness claim. Walker, 415 So. 2d at 1110. See also Harco Drugs, Inc. v. Holloway, 669 So. 2d 878 (Ala. 1995)(plaintiffs presented sufficient evidence of wantonness where a pharmacist, with knowledge that an illegible prescription was written by an oncologist, mistakenly filled the prescription for a cancer-fighting drug with a dangerous heart medication); Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Robbins, 707 So. 2d 284 (Ala. Civ. App. 1997)(upholding a wantonness claim where a pharmacist, believing she had correctly interpreted a prescription, failed to consult with the prescribing physician and mistakenly filled a prescription with medication that was too strong). Compare Cackowski v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 767 So. 2d 319 (Ala. 2000)(plaintiffs presented insufficient evidence of wantonness when a pharmacist, who had misread and wrongly filled a prescription, should not have become suspicious of the mistake).
We hold that Hodgen has produced evidence, which, if believed by the jury, would constitute clear and convincing evidence that Mobile Infirmary wantonly administered the digoxin, resulting in an overdose. Espiritu testified that she was aware that digoxin was a potentiall
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