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Richardson v. State12/9/1998
and x-rays should have been ordered. Additionally, Dr. Treuting testified he would not have instructed the patient to walk on the leg with the continued complaints of pain. Dr. McCormick's opinion was consistent with Dr. Davidson's and Dr. Treuting's.
Dr. Andrews testified that if Mr. Richardson's complaints of pain were inconsistent with the diagnosis of a gunshot wound, he would have been concerned. Dr. Andrews was very evasive when questioned about continued complaints of pain and the need for additional x-rays stating it would depend on the "zen" he felt at the time he examined the patient, as to whether or not he would order additional tests or x-rays. He believed Mr. Richardson's pain would have been recorded in his chart, if it was as bad as he described.
As noted above, the testimony of Mr. Richardson and Ms. Kirts about Mr. Richardson's complaints of pain at the hospital on August 16 and 21 conflicts with the medical records. Certified medical records are prima facie evidence of their content but can be rebutted or contradicted. We believe Mr. Richardson's and Ms. Kirts's testimony that Mr. Richardson did complain of pain on August 16 and severe pain on August 21.
The case of Ricker v. Hebert, 94-1743 (La. App. 1 Cir. 5/5/95); 655 So.2d 493, discusses at length the issues of standard of care and breach of the applicable standard of care. The following excerpts of that Discussion are pertinent to this case:
"Where the procedure alleged to be negligently performed is one that is not limited to a particular specialty, and where there is no showing that the standard of care is different for different medical disciplines, an expert with knowledge of the requisite procedure should be allowed to testify regarding the standard of care for performing the procedure. Of course, the party offering such expert must show the witness's expertise, skill, and training in the procedure."
"When the same treatment for the same condition is performed by members of more than one health care discipline, an expert health care professional having training, knowledge, and experience in performing the procedure in question may testify regarding the standard of care for performing the procedure. There was no evidence that the standard of care required of an oral surgeon was either higher or lower than that required of an ENT. Thus, either an oral surgeon or an ENT could testify as to the standard of care in treating a fractured mandible."
"Furthermore, while [the physicians] were not asked the precise question of whether defendant violated the standard of care required of ENT's in treating plaintiff's fracture, they testified in detail how, in their opinion, defendant performed the procedure improperly." Id. at 495-496.
There was no showing by the State that the treatment administered to Mr. Richardson in the emergency room of the Huey P. Long Hospital was limited to one specialty or that the standard of care applicable to it was any different than the standard of care testified to by Dr. Treuting, Dr. Davidson, and Dr. McCormick. The State did argue that Dr. McCormick was not qualified to render an opinion regarding the standard of care because he is a pathologist and has not treated a living patient in thirty years. Dr. McCormick testified that Mr. Richardson's complaints of pain would have caused "any person licensed to practice medicine in this state . . . to look for the cause of the pain." This opinion was supported by Dr. Davidson's testimony and by Dr. Treuting's testimony that "in terms of basic medicine from school" Mr. Richardson's leg should have been examined and another set of x-rays ordered because of his complaints of pain.
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