Recent Development by S. D. Crapple
On December 3, 1982, Marion L. Cangelosi underwent gallbladder surgery at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. Before the surgery a certified, registered anesthetist, Nurse Ann Ashbaugh, intubated and anesthetized Cangelosi. Another registered anesthetist, Dr. Martin Peuler, was present during this procedure. On January 4, 1983, Cangelosi was diagnosed as having tracheal stenosis, a condition that required sixteen subsequent operations and resulted in a permanent tracheostomy, a curved tube inserted into the trachea. Cangelosi filed suit against Dr. Peuler, Nurse Ashbaugh, the hospital, and the Anesthesiology Group Associates, alleging that his tracheal injury and subsequent permanent tracheostomy resulted from malpractice, which involved the insertion of the tube, the period of intubation, or the extubation, or a combination of those procedures. The trial judge found the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur inapplicable under Louisiana Revised Statute section 9:2794(C) on the ground that the plaintiff failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence the elements of the doctrine. As a result, the court directed a verdict for defendants. The court of appeal affirmed, agreeing with the trial court's interpretation of section 9:2794(C) and with the directed verdict. The Louisiana Supreme Court, however, set aside the directed verdict and held that the lower courts erred in interpreting section 9:2794(C) by taking the negligence issue from the jury when the trial judge had found that the evidence reasonably permitted an inference of negligence. The supreme court, however, made a de novo review of the record, concluding that defendants' evidence rebutted the inference that the negligence of any defendant, more probably than not, caused Cangelosi's injury. Cangelosi v. Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, No. 89-C-1093, slip op. (La. Apr. 20, 1990).
About the Author
S. D. Crapple.
Citation
65 Tul. L. Rev. 1283 (1991)