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Taylor v. Clement12/4/2002
AFFIRMED.
In this medical malpractice case, the Patient's Compensation Fund (PCF) appeals a judgment of the trial court in favor of the plaintiffs, Sharon and Charles Ray Taylor, Jr., whose infant son died twenty-four days after his birth. The trial court concluded that venue for plaintiffs' suit filed against the PCF is proper in Calcasieu Parish; that a summary judgment was properly granted in favor of the Taylors on the issue of whether Dr. Richard J. Clement was a Qualified Health Care Provider (QHCP), and that Dr. Clement's treatment of Sharon and her infant son, Charles Ray Taylor III (Charles III) was the cause of the injuries to and subsequent death of the infant. Lastly, the trial court concluded that the Taylors were entitled to $500,000.00, an amount the PCF asserts is excessive.
For the following reasons we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
I.
ISSUES
The first issue in this case involves the trial court's ruling that venue was proper in Calcasieu Parish. The PCF asserts that the Taylors' Petition for Declaratory Judgment concerning Dr. Clement's status as a QHCP filed in connection with their medical malpractice claim should have been filed in a separate proceeding in East Baton Rouge Parish, the PCF's principal place of business, in accordance with La.Code Civ.P. art. 42 and La.R.S. 40: 694(B). Whether Dr. Clement was a QHCP, the PCF contends, is a decision of the PCF Board located in East Baton Rouge Parish. The second issue is whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on the Taylors' petition for declaratory judgment with respect to whether Dr. Clement was a QHCP because "there exist several issues of material fact precluding summary judgment." Third, the PCF asserts that the trial court erred in finding that Dr. Clement was liable for the plaintiffs' injuries or, alternatively, the trial court's damage award in the amount of $500,000.00 is excessive.
II.
FACTS
Prior to the birth of her son, Charles III, Sharon had been under the care of Dr. Richard Barry for prenatal services. On October 29, 1994, Sharon arrived at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital (LCMH) in labor. Because Dr. Barry was unable to be at the hospital, Dr. Clement was called to the hospital to attend Sharon. When Dr. Clement arrived, he saw that the feet and ankles of the unborn child were protruding from Sharon's vagina. Although a heart monitor was not in place upon Dr. Clement's arrival, a heart rate of between 110 and 138 was recorded after a nurse attending Sharon placed a fetal heart monitor on the child. Dr. Clement testified that an unborn baby with such a fetal heart rate is doing well.
Dr. Clement conducted a vaginal delivery of the baby at 1:53 a.m. on October 29, 1994. At one minute old, the baby had an APGAR, a score assigned to a newborn infant indicating the infant's well being, of two and was not breathing. Efforts to resuscitate Charles III began. At five minutes old, the baby's APGAR score increased to five, another low score. The attending nurse, Janean Henning, testified that the two low scores indicated that the baby needed continued resuscitation. By ten minutes old, the baby's APGAR reached a level of nine, an acceptable score. On November 22, 1994, twenty-four days after his birth, Charles III died.
Procedural Background
The Taylors filed a petition for damages on October 30, 1995. They also served the PCF with a copy of the damage petition. The Taylors' petition was dismissed upon the granting of the defendants' Exception of Prematurity based on the fact that Dr. Clement was a self-insured qualified health care provider and the matter had
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