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Young v. Gastro-Intestinal Center3/24/2005
On January 20, 1999, Ernest Young underwent an esophagogastroduoenoscopy (EGD) at the Gastro-Intestinal Center (Center), a free-standing endoscopy center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Dr. Debra Morrison, M.D., performed this first procedure, telling Mr. Young that he would be sedated with the prescription medications Valium and Demerol. Dr. Morrison explained that, because he was to receive the medications, he must not drive himself home following the procedure. Before the January 20 EGD, Mr. Young had signed a form explaining that he understood that he was not to drive, and that Mrs. Maggie Young, his wife, would drive Mr. Young home. Much later, it was determined that Mr. Young had driven himself home.
Mr. Young returned to the Center on January 29, 1999, for a colonoscopy but, this time, he did not bring his wife. At the Center, Mr. Young told Michelle Ferrell, the receptionist, that after the procedure his friend Trundle Smith would drive him home. Ms. Ferrell recorded Smith's name, and Mr. Young was checked in to the Center. He again signed a form explaining that he understood that he was not to drive following the procedure.
After the colonoscopy was completed and Trundle Smith had not arrived, Diane Brown, a registered nurse, learned that Mr. Young intended to drive himself home. After getting dressed, Mr. Young went with Nurse Brown into an office at the Center, and the nurse called his wife in El Dorado, Arkansas. Mrs. Young told Nurse Brown that there was no one available to pick up Mr. Young. The nurse then attempted to persuade Mr. Young to wait at the Center for the next several hours, or until someone was available to drive him home. When it became apparent that Mr. Young was going to leave on his own, Nurse Brown requested that he sign a form indicating that he understood that he should not drive and that he was leaving against medical advice. Mr. Young signed the form, left the Center, and drove himself to another medical office, where he underwent another medical procedure. Subsequently, while driving home to El Dorado, Arkansas, from that facility, he was injured in an one-car collision and died several months later.
Mrs. Young and Mr. Young's estate (Mrs. Young) sued the Center and Nurse Brown, alleging that they had failed to exercise the degree of skill and care required of members of the profession practicing in Little Rock, Arkansas, and that that failure constituted negligence. The trial court granted the summary judgment motions of the Center and Nurse Brown. Mrs. Young appealed to the Arkansas Court of Appeals, which reversed and remanded. This court granted the Center's and Nurse Brown's petition for review, and we consider this appeal as though it had been originally filed in this court. Dixon v. Salvation Army, ___ Ark. ___, ___ S.W.3d ____ (Jan. 20, 2005); Sharp County Sheriff's Office v. Ozark Acres, 349 Ark. 20, 22, 75 S.W.3d 690 (2002). Mrs. Young argues two points on appeal: (1) that the trial court erred in entering judgment against her on the ground that the Gastro-Intestinal Center owed no duty to Earnest Young as a matter of law; and, (2) if the trial court intended to enter judgment against her on the basis of causation, it was error to do so. We find no error and affirm.
A trial court may grant summary judgment only when it is clear that there are no genuine issues of material fact to be litigated, and that the party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Harris v. City of Fort Smith, ___ Ark. ___, 866 S.W.2d 419 (2004); Craighead Elec. Coop. Corp. v. Craighead County, 352 Ark. 76, 98 S.W.3d 414 (2003); Cole v. Laws, 349 Ark. 177, 76 S.W.3d 878 (2002). Once the moving party has established a prima facie case showing entitlement
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