Lewellen v. Schneck Medical Center

2007 WL 2363384 (S.D. Ind.)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Lewellen (P) was in an accident while driving drunk. Davis (D1), a nurse, in the Emergency Room, admitted him noting he was in an accident. Reisert (D2), the doctor, noted that P was complaining of lower back pain and his lumbar was tender. X-rays were taken, but the quality was poor. D1 informed P that he was being discharged after one hour. P was also a registered nurse. P refused to sign the consent to discharge as he was in tremendous pain. D1 told the State Trooper that P was not being cooperative and asked him to sign the discharge. The Trooper refused. The Trooper was told that P was not in pain but was just drunk. The Trooper told P that once discharged he must be taken to jail. Doctors who looked at the X-rays blamed P’s lack of cooperation for their poor quality. A second physician expressed some doubt about a fracture but never contacted the first. While in jail, P began to get substantially worse. P had urinated over himself. Police called the doctors but were told not to bring him back despite an abnormality. The officer was unsettled with the response and asked his commander to take P back to the hospital. An ambulance arrived, and it was noticed there was blood on the wall from a cut that P had which still had grass in it. A scan revealed that a bone fragment was impinging on his spinal cord. Even after an operation, P suffered permanent neurological defects. P cannot defecate or urinate on his own and has some sexual dysfunction. The surgeon stated that had P been treated properly, the problems would not have developed.