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Lewis v. Brooks8/29/2001
This appeal involves a claim of medical malpractice. The plaintiff's minor child suffered brain damage during delivery. The only remaining defendants, Dr. Moore and Dr. Lawrence, moved for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. Plaintiff appeals. For the following reasons, we affirm the trial court's grant of summary judgment to defendants.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3; Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court Affirmed
Alan E. Highers, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which W. Frank Crawford, P.J., W.S., and David R. Farmer, J., joined.
OPINION
Facts and Procedural History
This is a medical malpractice action. Lonnie Davis Lewis (Ms. Lewis) was pregnant and had received prenatal care from Dr. Moore and Dr. Lawrence. Ms. Lewis was a high risk patient due to her age, hypertension, and obesity.
Ms. Lewis visited Methodist Hospital on March 3, 1995, for a prenatal evaluation called a nonstress test. At the time of the evaluation, Dr. Lawrence was on duty. Dr. Lawrence left the hospital without having discharged Ms. Lewis. Beginning at 5:00 p.m. on March 3, 1995, Dr. Brooks had begun covering for Dr. Moore and Dr. Lawrence. Dr. Brooks was not advised about Ms. Lewis' presence in the hospital nor did he see Ms. Lewis. Ms. Lewis was discharged at approximately 6:00 p.m. on March 3, 1995, by another doctor not associated with the defendants.
Ms. Lewis came back to the hospital on the evening of March 5, 1995, at approximately 8:00 p.m. Dr. Moore and Dr. Lawrence were not on duty at this time. Due to a previous arrangement, Dr. Brooks was covering for them. When Ms. Lewis arrived at the hospital on March 5, Dr. Brooks was at home. Dr. Brooks was advised by telephone sometime in the late evening that Ms. Lewis was at the hospital. At 10:00 p.m., Dr. Brooks ordered that the plaintiff be admitted to the hospital. There were several calls between Dr. Brooks and the hospital, and Dr. Brooks was advised that there were indications that Ms. Lewis' baby was in distress. At 2:46 a.m. on March 6, 1995, Dr. Brooks ordered that Ms. Lewis be prepared for a c-section, and he left for the hospital. At 3:09 a.m., before Dr. Brooks had arrived, an emergency call known as a "Dr. Stork" page was put out at the hospital indicating that there was an emergency and directing physicians to come to the delivery room. Dr. Washington responded to the call, but he did not deliver the child. When Dr. Brooks arrived at 3:17 a.m., Ms. Lewis was not prepared for a c-section as he had ordered. Dr. Brooks then performed a vaginal delivery. Unfortunately, the child suffered brain damage.
The plaintiffs filed a complaint and amended complaint asserting medical malpractice. The complaint asserted three theories of liability: 1) that Dr. Moore and Dr. Lawrence were negligent in the prenatal care of Ms. Lewis; 2) that Dr. Moore and Dr. Lawrence were negligent in selecting Dr. Brooks to cover for them when they were not on duty; and 3) that Dr. Brooks and Methodist Hospital were guilty of negligence during the delivery of Ms. Lewis' child.
On February 18, 2000, Dr. Moore and Dr. Lawrence moved for summary judgment. Ms. Lewis responded, and the parties argued the motion on May 5, 2000. The court denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment. However, no order was entered. The case was set for trial on September 18, 2000. Sometime shortly before trial, the defendants served the plaintiffs with a supplemental memorandum in support of its motion for summary judgment. The motion was argued the morning of trial, and the judge granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment. Ms. Lewis appeals the ruling from the court be
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