 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Fields v. Regional Medical Center Orangeburg South Carolina2/14/2005
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEALS
Heard January 6, 2005
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART
We granted the petition for a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' opinion in Fields v. Regional Medical Center Orangeburg, 354 S.C. 445, 581 S.E.2d 489 (Ct. App. 2003). We affirm in part and reverse in part.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Vergie Fields (Plaintiff) brought this wrongful death action against Physician and Regional Medical Center Orangeburg (RMC), alleging negligence and medical malpractice in failing to diagnose a heart condition suffered by her husband, Thomas Edison Fields (Decedent), and admit him to RMC. The Court of Appeals reversed the jury verdict for Physician and RMC and granted Plaintiff a new trial.
Plaintiff took Decedent, age 49, to RMC's emergency room when he began suffering chest pain which radiated into both arms on the afternoon of September 14, 1994. Decedent was examined, his history and past records were reviewed, he was placed on a heart monitor, and an electrocardiogram (EKG) test of his heart revealed no abnormalities. Decedent suffered from previously diagnosed conditions of chronic back pain, caused by a 1976 employment-related injury which left him totally disabled, and a hiatal hernia and gastrointestinal reflux. Decedent was given medication to relieve pain, told to follow up with his physician and sent home.
Plaintiff again took Decedent to RMC's emergency room at about 3 a.m. on September 18, 1994, after he awoke with severe chest pain radiating into both arms. Physician, who was on duty in the emergency room, testified he examined Decedent and reviewed past records which showed Decedent's history as a smoker, complaints of chest pain in past years, and past hospital admissions for mental health issues. Physician reviewed previous EKG and heart test results, including a heart catheterization in 1993 and the visit four days earlier, none of which revealed any heart condition.
Physician testified he placed Decedent on a heart monitor and performed an EKG which showed no abnormalities. Decedent stated his chest pain was similar to past instances, but worse. He was crying and upset. Physician gave Decedent the same pain medications he had received previously for the hiatal hernia and reflux, conditions which also may cause chest pain. Physician diagnosed Decedent with histrionics and chronic pain, told him to follow up with his doctor, and discharged him at 3:50 a.m. Physician denied his diagnosis was substantially affected by an emergency room nurse who told him Decedent, her uncle, was "crazy" and possibly seeking drugs, but instead was based primarily on Decedent's medical history, the current exam and normal EKG test.
Plaintiff testified Decedent's chest pains worsened after leaving RMC and she drove her husband to a Columbia hospital. There, Decedent suffered a documented heart attack about an hour after leaving RMC. Decedent was transferred to another Columbia hospital the same day, where he underwent an emergency heart catheterization. Decedent died after his right coronary artery was dissected during the operation, which is a known risk of the procedure. An autopsy revealed Decedent suffered from severe coronary artery disease.
Plaintiff alleged that, had Physician properly diagnosed Decedent with potential coronary artery disease and realized a heart attack might be imminent, Decedent would have been admitted to RMC, probably would have been given thrombolytic ("clot-busting") medications when he suffered his heart attack, and would not have undergone the emergency procedure which resulted in his death. Plainti
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 South Carolina Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|