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Hanks v. Seale6/17/2005
care of plaintiff. However, each panel member issued a different opinion regarding the issue of plaintiff's preoperative care. Dr. Baron Newton found the doctors' failure to perform EGD and manometry tests prior to the surgery deviated from the preoperative standard of care. Dr. Forrest Dean Griffen opined that the doctors' failure to perform a preoperative manometry study on esophageal motility was a breach of the standard of care; however, he concluded this breach did not cause the complications or subsequent problems suffered by plaintiff. Finally, Dr. Meyer Kaplan believed the preoperative care as well as all subsequent care by Drs. Ledet and Seale met the necessary standard of care.
Following the issuance of the medical review panel's opinion, plaintiff and his wife, Debra, individually and on behalf of their minor daughter, Kristina, filed a medical malpractice suit against Drs. Ledet and Seale. A trial by jury was subsequently held, with the jury finding in favor of plaintiff and his wife and assessing various damage awards. In response to special jury interrogatories, the jury found that plaintiffs had proven by a preponderance of the evidence the applicable standard of care in connection with plaintiff's treatment, that the treatment performed by Drs. Ledet and Seale breached this standard of care, and that this breach caused the injuries suffered by plaintiff. The jury awarded damages totaling $4,146,793.32 to plaintiff. This total award included damages in the amounts of $500,000.00 for past and future physical pain and suffering, $200,000.00 for past and future mental anguish, $628,860.32 for past medical expenses, $2,435,040.00 for future medical expenses, $100,000.00 for loss of enjoyment of life, $56,686.00 for past wages, and $226,207.00 for future wages/earning capacity. The jury also awarded plaintiff's wife $75,000.00 for her loss of consortium claim, but found that plaintiff's daughter did not prove a loss of consortium. On May 2, 2003, the district court issued judgment in accordance with the jury's verdict, assessing damages of $100,000 plus interest against each of the two doctors, and finding the State Treasurer's Office and the Office of Risk Management liable for the remaining damages subject to the limits provided in the MMA. The district court additionally assessed various items of costs against defendants.
Following the district court's denial of their motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a motion for a new trial, Drs. Ledet and Seale each paid the statutory maximum of $100,000 plus interest, thereby satisfying the judgment against them and foregoing their rights to appeal. Subsequently, the Louisiana Patient's Compensation Fund (hereinafter "the Fund") intervened and filed a petition for suspensive appeal, which was granted by the district court on June 9, 2003.
The court of appeal affirmed the judgment of the district court, finding the Fund was precluded from contesting the liability of the doctors in light of their payments of $100,000 each. Hanks v. Seale, 04-9 (La. App. 3 Cir. 5/12/04), 872 So.2d 647. In reaching its decision, the court of appeal relied upon this court's decision in Koslowski v. Sanchez, 576 So.2d 470 (La. 1991), overruled in part by Russo v. Vasquez, 94-2407 (La. 1/17/95), 648 So.2d 879, for the proposition that the doctors' payments of $100,000 pursuant to the district court's judgment established their liability. The court of appeal concluded that because the doctors admitted their liability up to the statutory maximum, the Fund could not contest their liability.
The court of appeal also affirmed the district court's award of future medical expenses, finding that the jury's determi
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