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Bryant v. HCA Health Services of Tennessee3/13/2000
COURT OF APPEALS AFFIRMED
OPINION
We granted this appeal to address whether a hospital has a legal duty to obtain the informed consent of a patient undergoing a surgical procedure ordered and performed by a non-employee doctor. We hold that Tenn. Code Ann. ยง 29-26-118 does not require a hospital to obtain the informed consent of a patient. A hospital, however, may assume an independent legal duty to obtain informed consent under certain circumstances not present in this case. The trial court's grant of the defendant's motion for summary judgment is affirmed, and the case is remanded.
FACTS
The plaintiff, Rhonda Bryant, sustained a back injury as the result of an automobile accident in 1979. She was diagnosed as having four fractured vertebrae. She returned to her normal activities without restrictions approximately nine months after the accident. She later developed kyphosis, or curvature of her spine. Doctors informed her that she might eventually need a surgical procedure during the 1980s to correct the curvature.
Ms. Bryant was involved in another automobile accident in 1992. The 1992 accident aggravated her previous spinal injury . She suffered persistent back pain and was referred to Dr. Stephen McLaughlin, an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. McLaughlin diagnosed Ms. Bryant as having kyphosis. He then referred her to Dr. David McCord.
Dr. McCord met with Ms. Bryant at his office and ordered studies on her back. Both an MRI and a CT scan revealed a moderate compression fracture, mild stenosis, and exaggerated kyphosis. Dr. McCord recommended to Ms. Bryant that she undergo surgery to correct her kyphosis. He proposed the implantation of rods, screws, and plates.
The procedure proposed by Dr. McCord was apparently less invasive than the surgical procedures discussed with Ms. Bryant during the 1980s. Dr. McCord did not guarantee the results of the surgery. He informed Ms. Bryant that the curvature could worsen should she elect not to have the surgery. He conveyed to Ms. Bryant a high likelihood that the surgery would be successful and that she would be able to return to work six months after the surgery. Dr. McCord also informed Ms. Bryant that if the procedure were unsuccessful, she would have to undergo a second, more invasive procedure.
Ms. Bryant elected to undergo surgery. Dr. McCord's office provided her a consent form entitled "What to Expect from Back Surgery." The form outlined numerous complications that could result from having back surgery. Ms. Bryant signed and returned the form to Dr. McCord.
Dr. McCord admitted Ms. Bryant to the defendant hospital, Centennial Medical Center, on May 2, 1993. Dr. McCord was not an employee of the defendant. On May 3, he performed back surgery on Ms. Bryant. During this surgery he implanted pedicle screws. Neither a Brantigan Cage nor a custom carbon fiber cage was implanted in 1993.
Ms. Bryant's condition worsened following the implantation of the pedicle screws. Dr. McCord recommended a second, more invasive surgery to Ms. Bryant. This procedure involved entering Ms. Bryant's chest cavity, removing rods, replacing screws, and implanting a bone cage. Ms. Bryant signed a consent form which provided that she agreed to participate in a research study involving the implantation of a Brantigan I/F cage.
Dr. McCord admitted Ms. Bryant to the defendant hospital in February of 1994. On February 21, he installed both a carbon fiber cage and pedicle screws into her spine. Ms. Bryant continued experiencing severe pain following the second surgery. She eventually had to have a morphine pump installed into her body, and she underwen
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