Dobyns v. Chung

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Dobyns v. Chung

State: Illinois

Court: 5th District Appellate

Docket No: 5-07-0568 Rel

Case Date: 03/19/2010

Preview:N O T IC E Decision filed 03/19/10, corrected 04/07/10. The text of this decision

NO. 5-07-0568 IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

may be changed or corre cted prior to the filing of a Petition for Rehearing or the disposition of the same.

FIFTH DISTRICT ________________________________________________________________________ JERRY DOBYNS, as Special Administrator of the Estate of Angela Dobyns, Deceased, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of ) Randolph County. Plaintiff-Appellant, ) ) v. ) No. 05-L-33 ) DAVID CHUNG, M.D., and SPARTA ) COMMUNITY HOSPITAL, ) Honorable ) Richard A. Brown, Defendants-Appellees. ) Judge, presiding. ________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE SPOMER delivered the opinion of the court: The plaintiff, Jerry (Jay) Dobyns, as the special administrator of the estate of Angela (Angie) Dobyns, deceased, appeals the order of the circuit court of Randolph County that entered a judgment on a jury verdict in the plaintiff's favor in the amount of $100,000, reduced by 50% according to a finding of contributory negligence on the part of the deceased. The plaintiff asks this court to reverse the judgment and remand with directions that the circuit court grant the plaintiff's motion for an additur or, in the alternative, a new trial solely on the issue of damages or a new trial on all the issues. The issues on appeal are as follows: (1) whether the damages awarded by the jury are manifestly inadequate and contrary to the evidence, (2) whether the circuit court erred in barring Abiodun Sangoseni, M.D., from testifying about whether the long-term prescription of narcotics is appropriate, and (3) whether the circuit court erred in refusing to admit the plaintiff's drug summary into evidence. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

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FACTS On March 23, 2007, the plaintiff filed a second amended complaint in the circuit court of Randolph County against the defendants, David Chung, M.D., and Sparta Community Hospital, seeking damages pursuant to the Wrongful Death Act (the Act) (740 ILCS 180/0.01 et seq. (West 2004)). The complaint alleged that Angie was under the care and treatment of Dr. Chung from 2001 through May 2004. On May 28 and 29, 2004, Angie sought care and treatment at Sparta Community Hospital and was also treated by Dr. Chung at that time. According to the complaint, Dr. Chung was negligent in failing to properly evaluate and treat Angie's pain syndrome, prescribing inappropriate types and amounts of pain and other medications, and failing to provide adequate information and warnings regarding the prescribed medications and the risk of potential harm from taking those medications concomitantly. During a lengthy jury trial that commenced on March 27, 2007, Dr. Chung testified that Angie first came to him on October 22, 2001, complaining of severe stabbing pains. Angie was 32 years old at the time and had previously been diagnosed with a bulging disc in her back and had a history of pain in her back, leg, and abdomen. She had suffered from back pain since 1992. Dr. Chung testified that there was nothing to indicate that Angie's pain was interfering with her ability to do household chores and care for her children. Dr. Chung testified that when Angie first came to him for treatment, she was employed at a local hotel as a housekeeper. She informed Dr. Chung that her pain was interfering with her work. It was Dr. Chung's belief that she was unable to do housekeeping chores in an employment capacity but that she could manage those chores in her home. Dr. Chung testified that when Angie first sought treatment from him, she was not on any narcotics but was using over-the-counter treatments such as Tylenol and ibuprofen. At that time, Dr. Chung wrote Angie a prescription for 30 Percocet, five-milligram tablets, at a dosage of one 2

to two every four to six hours as needed. Dr. Chung testified that he referred Angie to a neurosurgeon and to an endocrinologist in 2002 but that she never saw either specialist. Dr. Chung continued treating Angie with Percocet for the majority of the following 2

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