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Baker v. Saint Joseph Healthcare2/11/2005
AFFIRMING
Samuel Baker (Sam) filed this medical malpractice action after he underwent a pacemaker insertion. During the surgery, Sam allegedly suffered a left shoulder injury as a result of his arm and shoulder having been manipulated in an attempt to locate the left subclavian vein.
The trial court held that Sam failed to produce expert testimony in response to the motions for summary judgment filed by Saint Joseph Hospital and Dr. Dermont Halpin, the doctor performing the pacemaker insertion, and entered judgment in favor of Saint Joseph and Dr. Halpin. Because we conclude the facts and circumstances of the case were not such that negligence could be inferred in the absence of expert testimony, we affirm.
On July 11, 2000, Sam, then 79, had a permanent pacemaker inserted into his right subclavian vein by Dr. Dermot Halpin. At the time of the surgery, Dr. Halpin was associated with Surgical Associates of Lexington, P.S.C. (Surgical Associates). Dr. Halpin performed the surgery at Saint Joseph Hospital.
On the day of the surgery, Sam was not experiencing any pain in his left shoulder before the surgery. But when he awoke from anesthesia after the surgery, he experienced pain in his left arm and shoulder. The pain went across his chest.
About two months after the pacemaker insertion, Sam complained of the left arm and shoulder pain to Dr. John Thomas, one of the doctors in the cardiology group whom he regularly saw for chest pain which dated back to April of 1999. Sam continued to complain of the shoulder pain for about eight months after the pacemaker insertion and underwent a number of tests to diagnose the cause. Finally, Dr. Thomas made an office note that he believed the injury causing Sam's left arm and shoulder pain occurred during the pacemaker procedure of July 11, 2000, when the left arm was pulled during the procedure in an attempt to find the left subclavian vein. In making this determination, Dr. Thomas's objective was to rule out that the arm and shoulder pain was heart-related and referred Sam to an orthopedist, Dr. George Jeffrey Popham.
After examining Sam, Dr. Popham's initial impression was that Sam had a "left shoulder subacromial impingement" and probable, at least, partial rotator cuff tear. Dr. Popham performed arthroscopic surgery on Sam's left shoulder on August 2, 2001. Through special cameras used to perform this type of surgery, Dr. Popham could see that Sam had a partial rotator cuff tear and bone spurs in two different areas of his left shoulder. Dr. Popham removed the spurs and debrided a torn tendon to alleviate Sam's pain. However, in this surgery, Dr. Popham elected not to treat the rotator cuff injury . Dr. Popham then sent Sam to a clinic for physical therapy. About a month and a half later, Sam was still experiencing some pain in the shoulder, although the pain was not as bad as it had been before the surgery.
Three months after the arthroscopic surgery, Dr. Popham performed a second surgery to take a look at the rotator cuff tear. In this surgery, Dr. Popham flattened out another bone spur and cut out some adhesions associated with adhesive capsulitis (known as frozen shoulder). A frozen shoulder results when a person's shoulder is injured in someway, causing pain, and the person stops moving his or her shoulder because of the pain. Scar tissue forms and the person loses range of motion in the shoulder.
After taking a look at the rotator cuff in the second surgery and seeing the additional bone spur and adhesions in the left shoulder, Dr. Popham did not believe the rotator cuff was causing Sam's symptoms --- the frozen shoulder was -- so he did not repair it during
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