| Nurses Lack Bedside Manners |
| Lack of TLC Is Not An Extreme and Outrageous Conduct |
| "Shut Up," "Honey, We Dispose of Them Right Here at the Hospital" |
Bedside manners are almost as important as proper medical attention. As one of the participants in this sordid affair stated, a little bit of compassion by the nurse could have avoided a lot of emotional trauma.
Facts : Respondent was admitted to Humana Hospital on February 28, 1985, as a result of pregnancy complications involving a ruptured membrane. On March 10, 1985, she began experiencing pain, which she believed to be the beginning of labor. A nurse examined Ms. Seitz and informed her that she was not in labor. The pains, however, continued through the night until the early morning of March 11, 1985. Respondent contacted nurses through the bed communicator unit in her room. She was sedated and was given pain relief medicine.
At about 6 a.m., she attempted to contact the nurses, but the light on her bed unit failed to come on. She "believed" the unit had been disconnected by the nursing staff. She was served breakfast and had her vital signs checked shortly after 7 a.m. After the nurse left, she felt a sharp abdominal pain. She thought she had to "go to the bathroom." Her roommate advised her not to get out of bed, but rather to use a bedpan. The roommate shut the door to the room, and at the same time, respondent began delivering the baby into the bedpan. The roommate attempted to notify the nurses on respondent's intercom, and when it did not work, she used her bedside unit. Receiving no answer, the roommate then went to the hall and yelled for help. In several minutes a cleaning woman responded.
Several minutes after that, nurses arrived and rendered assistance. During this time, one of the nurses shouted to respondent, ordering her to "shut up" because she was disturbing other patients. A few minutes later, the respondent's obstetrician came into the room, on a regular visit, and examined the fetus and respondent. He pronounced the baby dead.
A nurse wrapped the deceased baby in a sheet, and the respondent inquired where the nurse was going to take the baby. According to the respondent, the nurse said, "Honey, we dispose of them right here at the hospital."
Respondent's physician testified that, based on the history of the incident and his personal observation, the nurse "failed to demonstrate the amount of compassion that a nurse should demonstrate toward a patient. I think that it was mishandled, and that amount of trauma, emotional trauma, could have been avoided."
Based on this evidence, respondent claims that the hospital, through the conduct of its nursing staff, is liable for outrageous conduct in the handling of the above described episode.
Court Decision: The Supreme Court of Kentucky first laid out the grounds for liability:
One who by extreme and outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress to another is subject to liability for such emotional distress, and if bodily harm to the other results from it, for such bodily harm.
The court then circumscribed extreme and outrageous conduct:
It has not been enough that the defendant has acted with an intent which is tortious, or that he has intended to inflict emotional distress, or even that his conduct has been characterized by `malice,' .... Liability has been found only where the conduct has been so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.
Certainly, as respondent's physician testified, the nurse's conduct showed a lack of compassion. We agree that a little more patience and TLC would have been desirable. However, after examining the facts as alleged by the respondent, we believe they describe conduct that falls short of the standards set out above.
The delay in time before a nurse arrived may well be negligence, but it is hardly intentional, outrageous, or reckless conduct. All other evidence indicated that the nursing staff carefully and regularly cared for respondent from the time she began suffering pain. The time lapse, per se, would only tend to show negligence, not the tortious conduct alleged here.
The evidence of the nurse telling respondent to "shut up" likewise is not of such a nature to show that the offending nurse intentionally or recklessly caused emotional distress. Respondent was obviously distressed at giving premature birth, and the curt admonition, under the circumstances, was necessary to calm respondent, and to limit noise to prevent disturbance and discomfort to other patients in the hospital. Finally, telling respondent that the baby would be disposed of in the hospital is cold, callous, and lacking sensitivity, but it certainly is not part of a pattern of conduct that "is beyond all decency."
Humana of Kentucky, Inc. v. Seitz, 796 S.W. 2d 1; 1990 KY
