Cornelius v. Macon-Bibb County Hosp. Auth.

M. L. Crump, Emma Crump’s husband, and Dexter Cornelius, as administrator of her estate, brought a wrongful death action against Dr. John Williams, Dr. Alan Stevick, and the Macon-Bibb County Hospital Authority d/b/a Medical Center of Central Georgia “MCCG” arising out of Mrs. Crump’s death at the hospital. The case proceeded to trial and a jury returned a defense verdict. Mr. Crump and Mr. Cornelius jointly referred to as “Crump” appeal, questioning four evidentiary rulings, disqualification of a juror, and sufficiency of the evidence.

Emma Crump, a 55-year-old woman, appeared at the emergency room “ER” at MCCG on December 4, 1993 with a complaint of lower abdominal pain and painful urination. She exhibited symptoms of urinary tract infection and was diagnosed as having that. An X-ray of her abdomen was reported as showing air fluid levels in the intestine, which could indicate an ileus, a non-functioning portion of the intestine. The significance of this finding was disputed at trial. She was given antibiotics for the infection and sent home. Mrs. Crump returned to the ER on December 8 with complaints of nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and loss of appetite; she reported that she began experiencing these symptoms after taking the prescribed medications. Her medications were changed, and on December 9, a repeat X-ray again showed air fluid levels in the bowel. Again the significance of this finding was disputed at trial. Her diagnosis for this visit was urinary tract infection and acute gastritis.