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Dykema v. Carolina Emergency Physicians3/4/2002
Appeal From Greenville County Wyatt T. Saunders, Jr., Circuit Court Judge
Heard November 14, 2001
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART.
This is a wrongful death action brought by Appellant/Respondent, Amey Dykema, on behalf of the estate of her deceased husband, David Dykema, who died on February 8, 1994, as a result of undiagnosed pulmonary emboli. The jury awarded Dykema $2 million actual damages against Respondent/Appellant Greenville Hospital System (GHS), and $500,000 punitive damages against Respondent Companion Health Care (Companion). The trial court granted Companion's motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict (JNOV) on the ground that the jury's failure to award actual damages against it precluded an award of punitive damages. The trial court held the statutory caps of the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, S.C. Code Ann. ยงยง 15-78-10 et seq., were inapplicable to this case, such that GHS was liable for the full $2 million verdict. Dykema and GHS appeal.
FACTS
In December 1993, 38-year-old David Dykema began having respiratory symptoms, cough and shortness of breath for which he was seen by his family physician, Dr. William King. After seeing Dr. King until January 1994 without improvement, he sought a second opinion from the Center for Family Medicine (Center), part of the Greenville Hospital System. Mr. Dykema went to the Center on Feb. 3, 1994, with complaints of a one and one-half month history of cough, shortness of breath, and tightness in the chest. He was seen that day by a third year medical student, Terry Gemas, and an attending faculty member, Cindy Pearman, M.D. Dr. Pearman prescribed antibiotics for persistent bronchitis and told Mr. Dykema to return in one week, or sooner if his condition worsened. In the early morning hours of Sunday, Feb. 6, 1994, Amey Dykema called the Center concerning her husband's worsening condition and was advised to take him to the hospital the next day. She brought him to the hospital at approximately 1:00 PM on February 6 and was seen by Dr. Connell, a medical resident and employee of GHS who was on call at the Center. Dr. Connell diagnosed viral bronchitis and advised Mr. Dykema to continue his antibiotics and keep his follow-up appointment at the Center on Feb. 8. The next morning, Monday, Feb. 7, Amey Dykema called the Center and spoke with a receptionist; she requested her husband be seen immediately due to his worsening condition. She was told there were no earlier appointments available and that she should keep the appointment on February 8. David Dykema died on the morning of Feb. 8, prior to his scheduled appointment. The cause of death was a progressive showering of pulmonari emboli, pieces of which moved to his lungs and caused a fatal blockage.
On Dec. 20, 1995, Amy Dykema instituted this wrongful death action against GHS, and Carolina Emergency Physicians; the complaint was subsequently amended to add Companion as a defendant. Trial was held in February 1999, and the jury returned a general verdict accompanied by special interrogatories, finding both GHS and Companion negligent. The jury awarded Dykema $2 million actual damages. However, it apportioned 100% of the actual damages to GHS. Nonetheless, it awarded Dykema $500,000 punitive damages against Companion.
The trial court granted Companion's motion for JNOV on the ground that the jury's failure to award actual damages against it precluded an award of punitive damages; the court denied GHS's post-trial motion to reduce the $2 million verdict, holding the statutory caps of the South Carolina Tort Claims Act were inapplicable to Dykema's claims.
ISSUES
1. Did the trial court err
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