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Dunn v. Maras2/2/1995
FIDEL, Judge
A juror learned outside of court that plaintiffs had settled this medical malpractice suit with a hospital before proceeding to trial against the defendant physicians alone. The trial court had ruled in limine that the jury should not be told of the settlement. Although the trial Judge repeatedly admonished the jurors to inform him if they heard anything extraneous about the case, and although the trial Judge made a point of asking, before releasing the jurors to deliberate, whether they had heard anything extraneous about the case, the juror in question did not tell the court what he had learned. At the outset of deliberations, however, he told the jury of the settlement and, according to one fellow juror, described plaintiffs as "greedy."
When juror misconduct puts extraneous information before the jury, a new trial must be granted if there is a reasonable possibility of prejudice. We hold that the trial court misapplied this standard and abused its discretion by denying plaintiffs' motion for new trial.
BACKGROUND
Patricia Dunn's survivors initiated this medical malpractice suit against Samaritan Health Services; Dr. Anca Maras, an anesthesiologist at Desert Samaritan Hospital; and Dr. Raymond S. Elliott, Mrs. Dunn's obstetrician.
Patricia Dunn entered Desert Samaritan Hospital on April 18, 1984, to deliver her fourth child. Shortly after Mrs. Dunn's 7:00 a.m. admission, Dr. Elliott examined his patient and prescribed a drug to augment labor. Mrs. Dunn, at thirty-seven, was in "excellent physical condition" and had experienced a normal pregnancy. After leaving instructions that his patient could receive an epidural anesthetic or other pain medication upon request, Dr. Elliott left the hospital for his office just across the street.
At approximately 10:15 a.m., Dr. Maras, an anesthesiologist under contract with Samaritan, gave the first of two epidural injections. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Maras administered the second because the first had provided an "unequal block," affecting only one side of Mrs. Dunn's body. Hospital records reflect that at 11:00 Mrs. Dunn was "cold and jittery," short of breath, and receiving oxygen. Shortly thereafter, fetal heart tone was recorded as weak, and at approximately 11:15 Dr. Maras administered the first of several ephedrine injections to elevate Mrs. Dunn's blood pressure and the heartbeat of the fetus.
Dr. Elliott called the hospital several times during the morning to check on Mrs. Dunn's condition and, after calling at 11:15, went home to lunch, directing the hospital staff to call him at home if he was needed. At 11:35 and 11:45, Dr. Elliott received calls at home regarding problematic fetal heart tone. After the second call, as Dr. Elliott returned to the hospital, another obstetrician and anesthesiologist were summoned to assist Dr. Maras and to perform an emergency cesarean section on Mrs. Dunn.
The parties dispute whether Mrs. Dunn herself experienced significant distress before noon; defendants claim that only the fetus had significant distress before that time. By 12:05 p.m., however, as she was wheeled to the delivery room, Mrs. Dunn was "cyanotic - no response, pupils dilated." By 12:15, when Dr. Elliott arrived, the cesarean had been performed, the infant had been saved, the surgical incision was being closed, and several doctors, including Dr. Maras, were attempting to revive Mrs. Dunn from full cardiac arrest. Though she was eventually revived, Mrs. Dunn had suffered severe brain damage and spastic paralysis and remained institutionalized for the balance of her life.
Before trial, Samaritan settled with plaintiffs for 2.6 million
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