Local News
Miss. Supreme Court to hear appeal of $534K judgment against UMC
Jackson — The state Supreme Court will hear the appeal of a $534,025 medical malpractice award from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, which was accused by the family of a Carthage woman of failing to diagnose a case of pneumonia that led to her death.
The state Court of Appeals upheld the malpractice award last May. On Thursday, the Supreme Court, on a 4-4 vote, granted UMC’s request to hear the case.
Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green in 2005 ruled for Gloria Johnson, Brenda Easter’s sister, who sued the hospital.
UMC had argued that Green allowed hearsay evidence and disregarded testimony favorable to the hospital.
According to the court record, Easter entered the Jackson hospital on Aug. 17, 1999, for a Caesarean section. Easter gave birth to a healthy daughter but began to have difficulty breathing and suffered from elevated blood pressure.
Testimony at the trial was that Easter told a woman with whom she was sharing a room that she felt like she was drowning when she laid down.
Easter left the hospital on Aug. 20 and returned to her Carthage home. She died Aug. 22, 1999, at Leake County Hospital after experiencing trouble breathing. An autopsy showed she suffered from bronchopneumonia.
On appeal, UMC attacked the testimony of Sandra Russell, Easter’s roommate at the hospital. UMC said Russell was being treated with pain medication while she shared a room with Easter and offered contradictory statements about Easter’s condition, which were not supported by Easter’s medical records.
UMC also contended that Russell’s testimony about Easter’s breathing problems was inadmissible hearsay.
The Appeals Court said the issue of UMC’s negligence did not hinge on the testimony of Russell. The court said negligence could only be shown by the testimony of medical experts and on that basis Russell’s testimony was irrelevant.
Also, the Appeals Court said Russell’s testimony was not hearsay, because she was testifying about what Easter told her.
The Appeals Court also rejected UMC’s argument that the trial judge erred in finding that Easter developed bronchopneumonia before her release from UMC. The hospital said there was no expert testimony to support that finding and Easter could have developed it after her discharge because she died 36 hours after her release.
The Appeals Court said a medical expert testified that the pneumonia was preexisting and it would have shown up on an X-ray.
UMC said the trial judge ignored the testimony of its experts, who provided another explanation for the cause of Easter’s symptoms.
The Appeals Court said the court record showed the judge gave consideration to both sides.
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Earl threatens East Coast with weekend pounding
Hurricane Earl packed winds near 125 mph as it blew toward North Carolina on Thursday, putting the Eastern Seaboard all the way to Canada on alert for a Labor Day weekend pounding by waves, gales and rain.
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Earl threatens East Coast with weekend pounding
Hurricane Earl packed winds near 140 mph as it blew toward North Carolina on Thursday, putting the Eastern Seaboard up to Maine on alert for a Labor Day weekend pounding by waves, gales and rain.
A hurricane warning for the tip of Massachusetts, including Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, joined earlier warnings and watches for hurricanes or tropical storms that stretch from North Carolina up to near the Canadian border. -
Island evacuations start as Earl nears East Coast
Hurricane Earl steamed toward the Atlantic Seaboard on Wednesday as communities from North Carolina to New England kept a close eye on the forecast, worried that even a slight shift in the storm’s predicted offshore track could put millions of people in the most densely populated part of the country in harm’s way.
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Man found guilty of DUI, kidnapping
Jerry Van Wagner of Bay St. Louis, was found guilty of aggravated DUI and kidnapping in Pearl River County Circuit Court on Tuesday.
During court proceedings this week the District Attorney’s office portrayed the events leading up to 27 year-old Crystal Brasher’s death as a kidnapping that ended with an accident caused by Jerry Van Wagner driving while intoxicated. -
Virtual on-line classes so popular they’re filled up
A state education official who helps co-ordinate a virtual on-line school says the program is so popular and in so much demand that all slots are now filled and no more applications are being accepted for now.
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Patrol officers beat the streets
“Cadets” at Picayune Police Department’s Community Police Academy got to see an officer get tased and learned about the Department’s Patrol Division.
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Island evacuations start as Earl nears East Coast
Powerful Hurricane Earl spun toward the East Coast on Wednesday, driving tourists from North Carolina’s vacation islands and threatening to bring damaging winds and waves to the Atlantic seaboard through Labor Day weekend.
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Police: Man holds hostages in Discovery building
A man upset with the Discovery Channel’s environmental programming took several people hostage at gunpoint at the company’s headquarters Wednesday while wearing canisters strapped to his body, officials said.
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Miranda Lambert tops CMA Awards with 9 nominations
Miranda Lambert made history Wednesday morning when she was nominated for nine CMA Awards, the most for a female country music artist.
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Island evacuations start as Earl nears East Coast
Powerful Hurricane Earl wheeled toward the East Coast, driving the first tourists Wednesday from North Carolina vacation islands and threatening damaging winds and waves up the Atlantic seaboard over Labor Day weekend.
Visitors were taking ferries off Ocracoke Island and told to leave neighboring Cape Hatteras in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and federal authorities have warned people all along the Eastern seaboard to be prepared to evacuate. - More Local News Headlines
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