 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Stephenson v. Grant County Ambulance Service5/20/2005
REVERSING AND REMANDING
BEFORE: BARBER, HENRY, AND JOHNSON, JUDGES.
Mark Stephenson has appealed from the September 12, 2003, order of the Grant Circuit Court granting summary judgment in favor of the Grant County Ambulance Service, Inc.
Having concluded that Stephenson's claim for "civil battery" relates back to the date of the original complaint and that the trial court erred in denying Stephenson's motion to amend his complaint and in granting the Ambulance Service's motion for summary judgment, we reverse and remand.
On January 15, 1999, Stephenson filed a complaint in the Grant Circuit Court against the Ambulance Service, alleging that while he was working for Over the Top, Inc. on January 19, 1998, he fell from a ladder and sustained various injuries, and that he suffered numerous complications from those injuries due to the negligent care provided him by the Ambulance Service. The Ambulance Service first transported Stephenson from the scene of the accident to St. Luke's Hospital, then, due to the severity of his injuries, to University Hospital in Cincinnati. Stephenson claimed that while in route to St. Luke's Hospital he repeatedly requested the ambulance medical personnel not to treat his fractured leg, but that they did not abide by his wishes. An expert witness for Stephenson, Donna Adkins, R.N., stated in her deposition that Stephenson's fracture "should have been secured, padded, but not reduced, due to reduction causing the potential for significant complications in the form of infection at the site of the fracture... which caused the patient to develop sepsis and develop ARDS..." [emphasis original]. Adkins also stated that if Stephenson "requested of the EMS personnel that they not do anything to his leg, then they breached the consent."
On October 26, 2000, the Ambulance Service filed a motion for summary judgment claiming Stephenson had failed to produce evidence sufficient to prove that any complications from his injuries were caused by the actions of the Ambulance Service. More specifically, it argued that Adkins was not qualified to testify regarding the cause of Stephenson's ARDS. Therefore, even if the trial court, for the purpose of addressing the motion for summary judgment, were to accept as fact Adkins's opinion that the ambulance personnel had breached the standard of care regarding Stephenson's leg fractures, Stephenson's lawsuit should be dismissed for failing to establish the cause of the complications from his injuries.
After Stephenson filed numerous requests for extensions of time to respond to the motion for summary judgment, he finally responded by arguing that it would be premature to grant summary judgment since he had not been afforded sufficient opportunity to depose all of the witnesses.
The trial court granted Stephenson additional time to develop his medical proof, but it eventually granted summary judgment in favor of the Ambulance Service on March 20, 2001. The trial court reasoned that although Stephenson had provided expert medical testimony that the Ambulance Service had breached the standard of care, he had failed to present any medical proof to establish the cause of the complications from his injuries. On appeal, this Court reversed the trial court on the grounds there were genuine issues as to a material fact.
On March 18, 2003, Stephenson filed a motion for the trial court to schedule a pre-trial conference and a trial date. On July 9, 2003, Stephenson filed a motion for leave to amend his complaint, wherein he asserted "additional causes of action that became known during the discovery process in this matter, such as civil battery[.]" He also ask
Page 1 2 3 Kentucky Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|