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SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA

No. 99-C-0232

DEBORAH BATSON, EULA MAYE BATSON AND BILLY M. BATSON Versus SOUTH LOUISIANA MEDICAL CENTER AND STATE OF LOUISIANA, THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT, PARISH OF TERREBONNE JOHNSON, Justice*
Plaintiff, Deborah Batson, brought this action to recover damages for injuries she sustained while hospitalized at South Louisiana Medical Center in Houma, Louisiana. We granted this writ of certiorari to determine whether the Malpractice Liability for State Services Act (MLSSA) prohibits multiple statutory caps for multiple acts of negligence which produce separate and independent damages. After a thorough review of the record, LSA-R.S. 40:1299.39(F), and related jurisprudence, we conclude that the MLSSA allows multiple caps for damages when separate acts of negligence are ascertainable and the resulting injuries are separable. Accordingly, we reverse the court of appeal's decision and remand this case to the court of appeal to determine the issue of damages under each cap. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY On July 26, 1990, plaintiff, Deborah Batson, a thirty-seven year old woman, was brought to the emergency room at South Louisiana Medical Center (SLMC). Ms. Batson, who had a history of peptic ulcer disease, was admitted to the hospital for treatment of a bleeding ulcer and underwent a surgical procedure to correct the bleeding. Pre-operatively and post-operatively, the treating physicians failed to prescribe antibiotics to prevent her from developing an infection. Within hours after her surgery, Ms. Batson began to exhibit signs of an infection. She developed a fever in excess

*

Marcus, J., not on panel. See Rule IV, Part 2,

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