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Young v. Louisiana Medical Mutual Insurance Co.12/16/1998
YOUNG v. LOUISIANA MED., 98-522 (La.App. 5 Cir. 12/16/98)
Plaintiffs, Clint Young and Gwendolyn Gobert, individually and on behalf of their minor child Brittany Young, filed this suit against Dr. Maria Cortez and her insurer Louisiana Medical Malpractice Insurance Co., for obstetrical malpractice for injuries sustained by Brittany Young during labor and delivery. The trial court rendered judgment for plaintiffs and awarded Brittany Young $25,000.00 in general damages plus medical expenses. The trial court also awarded damages for mental anguish and emotional distress of $1,000.00 to Clint Young and $3,000.00 to Gwendolyn Gobert. The trial court found that the claim for loss of earning capacity was too speculative for an award of damages.
Plaintiffs appeal, alleging that all awards of damages were inadequate. Defendants filed an answer to the appeal, alleging that the trial court erred in finding that Dr. Cortez violated the applicable standard of care. Defendants further allege that there is no basis to award damages for mental anguish and emotional distress to Clint Young and Gwendolyn Gobert. For the following reasons, we find that the trial court erred in awarding damages and we amend the trial court's judgment to award general damages to Brittany Young in the amount of $100,000.00, and damages for emotional distress in the amount of $3,000.00 to Clint Young and $10,000.00 to Gwendolyn Gobert. In all other respects, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
FACTS
Gwendolyn Gobert first consulted Dr. Maria Cortez on October 30, 1991. On November 29, 1991, Ms. Gobert's pregnancy test was positive. The pregnancy was relatively uncomplicated, and on July 2, 1992 Ms. Gobert was admitted to the hospital. Labor initially progressed normally, but during the delivery process, shoulder dystocia developed. In this condition, the baby's shoulder becomes impacted against the mother's pubic bone. As a result, the baby suffered injury to the brachial plexus nerve.
Plaintiffs requested a medical review panel, which was convened on September 22, 1994. The panel concluded that the evidence did not support a Conclusion that the health care provider (Dr. Cortez) failed to meet the applicable standard of care. The panel found that the physician could not have reasonably anticipated that the delivery would have been difficult. The panel further found that, upon discovering shoulder dystocia, the physician properly managed the infant's delivery because the records and the physician's narrative showed that fundal pressure had been applied only after the infant's shoulders had been disimpacted. This suit followed.
At trial, Dr. Cortez testified about the events of delivery. She testified that during the labor process, the baby's head delivered without difficulty. While she was holding the baby's head, she requested that the mother push. The mother pushed, but delivery could not be accomplished. It was at this time that she discovered that the right (anterior) shoulder was impacted and the diagnosis of shoulder dystocia was made.
Dr. Cortez testified that she attempted to deliver the left (posterior) shoulder, but could not. She then attempted to place the shoulders in the oblique position, and when that was unsuccessful, she next attempted to rotate the shoulders, procedure called a Wood's screw maneuver. She had one hand on the baby's left chest and one on the back's left back, and she moved the left shoulder. She testified that, once the left shoulder was rotated, the right shoulder was freed and she then requested that the mother push and/or that the attending nurse apply fundal pressure (pushing on the abdomen). The infant's shoulders app
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