KANSAS CITY - A Western District Missouri Court of Appeals panel has affirmed judgment in favor of medical providers who had been accused of negligence in the care of a woman who underwent a C-Section at St. Luke's East Hospital in Lee's Summit in 2014.
Kassidy L. Love had sued J.M. Waring, M.D., Stan D. Avery, CRNA, Saint Luke’s Anesthesia Services, P.C., Saint Luke’s Health System, Inc., and Saint Luke’s East Hospital claiming that she was given an excessive dose of morphine before her child was born on Aug. 21, 2014 which caused her to be unable to care for, nurture, and bond with her baby "for days after the baby's birth."
She alleged Waring and Avery failed to read the label on the morphine and accused other defendants of failing to properly train employees, among other things.
According to the Oct. 16 ruling, in the morning prior to the C-Section it was discovered that she had received 3.0 mg of intrathecal morphine, due to the pharmacy putting a 100 mg/10ml vial in the anesthesia tray instead of 10 mg/ml.
A physician ordered that she be given naxolone, also known as Narcan, in her IV fluid in order to reverse the effects of an opioid such as morphine. She received additional doses throughout the day of giving birth. She was also given 12 other medications that day between 1:52 a.m. and 4:15 a.m., which was approximately two hours before delivery to 15 minutes after delivery.
The appeals panel, that included Judges Lisa White Hardwick, Cynthia L. Martin and Edward R Ardini, Jr., upheld Jackson County Circuit Judge George E. Wolf, found that Love did not meet a deadline for designating experts or any time after the deadline.
"Love also alleged that two nurses told her that her nausea and vomiting was related to the morphine she received," Hardwick wrote for the panel. "Additionally, Love alleged that another nurse told her that her depression and anxiety were because of the 'medication' she received. Love insists that this was expert medical testimony establishing causation. We disagree."