Park Place Hospital v. Estate of Milo11/2/1995
Argued Sept. 7, 1995
Decedent's estate brought medical malpractice action against doctor, nurse, and hospital claiming that they improperly and prematurely attempted to wean decedent from respirator thereby causing her death. The 136th District Court, Jefferson County, Jack R. King, J., granted summary judgment for defendants. The Beaumont Court of Appeals, Ninth Judicial District, Jack Brookshire, J., 883 S.W.2d 779, reversed holding that material issue of fact as to causation precluded summary judgment. Defendants appealed. The Supreme Court, Spector, J., held that: (1) decedent's estate timely perfected their original appeal, and (2) defendants could not be held liable for causing decedent's death since uncontroverted evidence established that decedent only had 40% chance of survival even before attempt to wean her from respirator.
Reversed.
SPECTOR, Justice, delivered the opinion of the Court, in which PHILLIPS, Chief Justice, and GONZALEZ, HIGHTOWER, HECHT, CORNYN, ENOCH, OWEN and BAKER, Justices, join.
In this wrongful death case, we consider whether the court of appeals erred in reversing and remanding a summary judgment granted in favor of a hospital, a doctor, and a nurse. Because the defendants' summary judgment evidence defeated causation as a matter of law, we hold that summary judgment was properly granted. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals.
I.
On June 11, 1989, Lola Milo was admitted to Park Place Hospital in Port Arthur, Texas, for surgery to repair a hiatal hernia. The hernia operation was performed by Dr. Hassam Fadhli. During this operation, Dr. Fadhli inadvertently cut Milo's stomach, which required sutures to repair. After Milo was discharged from the hospital, she returned to the hospital's emergency room at least seven more times complaining of pain, breathing problems, and lack of bowel function. As a result of the complications from the hernia operation, Milo was readmitted to Park Place on July 15, 1989. It was determined that Milo's sutures had rotted, causing gangrene, and she was diagnosed as being in sepsis and resultant shock.
Dr. George Zuzukin became involved in Milo's care after she was in critical condition and on a respirator. According to Dr. Zuzukin's affidavit, breathing only with the assistance of a machine would not be beneficial to Milo in the long term, and he therefore attempted to wean her from the respirator on both July 30 and July 31. Each attempt was unsuccessful. Three days later, Dr. Zuzukin ordered the nurse in charge of Milo's care, Dorris Jones, to again attempt to wean Milo from the machine. After Nurse Jones carried out the doctor's orders, Milo went into sudden cardiac and respiratory arrest. As a result, she suffered severe brain damage and lapsed into a coma from which she never emerged. Milo was transferred to St. Luke's Hospital in Houston, where she died some four months later. The death certificate lists the immediate cause of death as ischemic brain damage, and the underlying causes of death as respiratory and cardiac arrest, abdominal sepsis, and abdominal abscess.
II.
Milo's husband, three minor children, and mother sued Park Place Hospital, Dr. Fadhli, Dr. Zuzukin, Nurse Jones, and two staff physicians-Dr. Cecil A. Walkes and Dr. Joseph N. Badlissi. Milo's survivors alleged causes of action against all the defendants under the Texas Wrongful Death Statute, TEX.CIV.PRAC. & REM.CODE §§ 71.002 & 71.004, the Texas Survival Statute, TEX.CIV. PRAC. & REM.CODE § 71.021, and general medical negligence. The plaintiffs subsequently nonsuited Dr. Fadhli, and the trial court entered an order dismissing
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