Supreme Court.

Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 7, 9 July 1888, Page 2

Supreme Court.

+ This Day. (Before Mr. Justice Richmond and a special jury.) BABNES V. GILLON AND ANOTHER. This was an action brought by Richard James Barnes, a young man, to reoover from Drs. Geo. Gore Gillon and Alexander Johnston, who were respectively resident surgeon and consulting physician in the Wellington Hospital in May, 1879, the sum of JBBOO for alleged unskilful treatment. The statement of claim set forth that on. the 13th May, 1879, the plaintiff, then a lad. of 17, went into the Wellington Hospital and. was treated by defendants for hernia instead, of for spinal absceßs, in consequence of whioh alleged unskilful treatment be claimed damage* amounting to .£BOO. The defenoe was a denial of all the allegations except that which referred to Barnes' admission to the Hospital on 13th May, 1879, and it was also pleaded that the plaintiff had been treated with due skilfulneßS, and without fee or reward. Defendants further pleaded the Statute of Limitations. Mr. Jelliooe appeared for the plaintiff and. Messrs. Gully and Brandon for Drs. Gillon. and Johnston respectively. The following gentlemen were sworn in as a special jury.— Messrs. Chas. Tringham (foreman), James Watt, Andrew Campbell, Isaao Plimmer, Charles Stewart. Alex. MD. Cooper, Herbert (iaby, Cecil H. Biss, Edward Seager, Thos. Whitehouse, Augustus F. Caatendyk, and James Gear. The first witness examined was Dr. Collins, practising in Wellington, who deposed that he recolleoted attending Barnes on 12th. June, 1879, at a house in Brook-street. Believed he was sent for by the lad's mother. Did not recolleot speaking to Dr. Gillon previous to this about the case. Dr. Gillon at that time was house surgeon and house physician at the local hospital, and Dr. Johnston was consulting physioian. On examining Barnes on the 12th June, 1879, witness found an abscess in the thigh. Found there was a sac containing fluid. The boy was lying in bed, and had an angular curvature of the spine. Witness kept the boy in bed, and next day Dr. Kemp assisted him to snok up the fluid with an aspirator. Barnes wax not at that time wearing a truss. Did not notice any sign of hernia. Thought that the absoess came from ourvature of the spine. Iv a case of hernia he would not expeot to find the lungs oompresßed, or the liver strangulated. Would not expect to find inflammation with simple hernia. In strangulated hernia there was obstruction of the bowels and shook. If simple hernia were not reduoed, he thought there might be indigestion, and the bladder would also be affected. If hernia was not strangulated, food ought to pass through the system. When he first Baw the boy he thought there might be hernia. Was not sure at first that there was au abscess. Aspirating was not a difficult operation, but witness oalled in Dr. Kemp in order to advise as well as assist. If the boy had been suffering from hernia, witness would have tried to reduce it by tight bandaging, and having reduced it, he would have recommended a truss. If the bandaging was not very tight he did not think it would have done the abscess any injury. If there had been an absoess he would not have put on a truss. In the case of an abscess, tight bandaging would cause pain. On examining the boy he found symptoms of hernia. Recollected visiting tb^e patient in company with Dr. Johnston a few days after the operation of aspirating. Witness believed h« told Dr. Johnston what he had done. Dr. Johnston looked at the boy and seemed glad to find him getting on. Witness did not remember complaining to either Dr. Gillon or Dr. Johnston about their treatment of the boy. His impression was that he did not complain. After drawing off tha fluid from the absoess there was no hernia. Fluctuation was a sympton of abscess, but not of hernia. Fluctuation did exist when he first saw the boy. By Mr. Gully— lt was quite possible that hernia might exist complicated with psoas abscess, and at certain Btages it was possible to mistake one for the other. The lump arising from hernia might also arise from psoas absoess. Both could be pressed back in the same way. In either caße great caution should be exercised. By cutting into a lump supposed to be from hernia, and whioh turned out not to be from hernia, a surgeon might endanger tha life of the patient. Did not think the dootors were to blame for delaying the operation. Did not think that the delay had done the absoess any harm. Did not think the prinoiple of support by the truss (carried out by Drs. Gillon and Johnston) was wrong. Dr. Johnston was treated with oivility by Mrs. Barnes and her son when he visited the boy's house in. company with witness. Re-examined— Witness was certain about there being an abscess, and as soon as he was oalled in he operated with the aspirator. Abscess was connected with spinal disease, and spinal disease caused weakness. Richard James Barnes, the plaintiff, deposed that he was 26 years of age on the 4th of March last. In 1879 he was suffering from spinal complaint. Had suffered from spinal complaint for 12 or 13 years before that year. Reoolleoted going to the Wellington Hospital on 13th. May, 1879. Saw Drs. Gillon and Johnston. There was then a swelling in his right thigh. Drs. Gillon and Johnston examined the swelling, and both agreed that there waß fluotnation. They Baid it was a case of rupture, and they at onoe set about treating him. They got long strips of calico and bound up his leg from below the knee. They continued the bandages until the groin was reached. Before this, however, they had pressed the tumour, but it dfd not go baok into the abdomen, as they said it would. He pointed out to them that the tumour had not gone baok. After the bandaging had been completed it was found that the bandages were not tight enough over the tumour, and the doctors rammed in some tow to fill np. After this he went home, but returned in two or three days. In the meantime he suffered a great deal from the tumour. On retnrning to the Hospital tha dootorß took off the bandages and replaced them. Returned to the Hospital on the 21st May, and, after looking at the tumour, Drs. Gillon and Johnston put on a truss. Up to this time he was following the oooupation of a clerk. Kept at work because employment diverted his mind from the irritating pain whioh the tumour caused. His appetite was good, and he believed his digestion was also good. His mother took him to Dr. Grace after the truss had been put on. He then paid another visit to the Hospital, and Dr. Gillon said he had heard that he (witness) had bee j to private dootors, and if he (Dr. Gillon) found it was so he would strike him off the books of the institution. Dr. Gillon took off the truss, and it was fonnd that the enormous pressure had raised two blisters. Dr. Gillon replaced the truss, witness Bitting on a chair at the time. Dr. Johnston was then sitting at a table writing. On this occasion the truss was not put on in the same way as on the first occasion. Went to the Hospital again on 7th June, and Dr. Gillon gave him some medioine whioh he led him to believe would cause a noise in the bowels. Was instructed by the doctor to watch the effect of the medicine. Dr. Gillon told him he would bring a friend to see witness, and on the following Tuesday the dootor brought Dr. Collins with him. These gentlemen did nothing to him then. On following day they again saw him, and Dr. Collins then said witness was suffering from an abscess whioh bad come down from the spine. The Say after this Drs. Gillon and Johnston wanted to lanoe the abscess, but his mother would pot let them have anything more to do with him. On the following day Drs. Collins and Kemp operated on him with an aspirator. They drew off fluid. The operation was a painful one, the withdrawal of the fluid causing great pain. Dr. Collins did not say anything in hi? hearing respecting the Hospital treatment. The abscess broke in two places where there had been the blisters caused by the truss. Dr. Collins tried the absoess for breaking. Witness had no cough at this time. By Mr. Gully — Did not recolleot taking off the truss during one interval between his visits to the Hospital, and neither did he recolleot asking Dr. Gillon to replace the appliance, as it gave him relief. What he said to Dr. Gillon was that to some extent it relieved the bursting pressure in the tumour. He also explained that it caused him a tremendous amount of pain. Knooked off work on 7th June, some days before he was operated upon by Dr. Collins. While he was being treated at the Hospital he went about with some difficulty. Beside the two blisters caused by the truss there was not an abrasion of the skin. Was working at Moorhouse, Edwards & Cutten'a offioe before the operation. Recolleoted Dr. Gillon advising him to enter the Hospital as an in-patient Dr. Gillon advised him to enter, but this was after 7th June. Wrote to Dr. Johnston sometime after the operation. Claimed .£BOO damages because he had been permanently injured by the truss. When he went to the Hospital he had a proper feeling in his leg, but now he had not. There was now a numbness in the leg and a want of power. Had made several efforts to get an enquiry into his treatment at the Hospital. Wrote to the Government on the subject, and also to the City Council. Dr. Gillon said that if Mrs. Barnes, witness' mother, bothered him any longer he would put her into the Lunatio Asylum. Found as he got older that the injury was a permanent one, and realised how badly he 'had been treated. No one had put him up to bringing the present aotion. Had not had advice from a medical man upon the subject recently. Was not at present in employment. Dr. Kemp gave evidence to the effect that in company with Dr. Collins he attended on the last witness in June, 1879. Found the boy suffering from a swelling on the upper part of the right thigh. Saw at once that there was a psoas abscess. Did not see any Bign of hernia. The abscess would have hidden any symptoms of hernia if the latter had existed. Had heard Dr. Collins give his evidenoe. Would say that the use of bandages and a truss was proper treatment in Barnes' case. Would have not attempted to force baok a tumour in the stage in which he first saw it. At an earlier stage it might have been forced back, and bandages applied to keep up the pressure. Fluctuation first presented itself when mn abscess became evident externally. Dr. Collins and himself removed a quantity of fluid from the abscess, but he could not Bay how much. In his opinion the abscess pointed outward a week before the operation. A week before the operation he would not have put on a truss, as he thought other and better means might have been adopted for giving relief. The boy was not wearing a truss when witness assisted Dr. Collins to remove the fluid. By Mr. Gully— Medical men recognised that in the earlier stages hernia might be mistaken for psoas abscess, and vice verta. Symptoms were similar, and when the patient was lying down the lump, whether from psoas abscess or hernia, could be pretsed back. In the case of Barnes it was possible that there had been a complication, of h.erflia ap'4 psoaq abscess. It was necessary in the early stage of either nern^a or psoas abscess, for a medical man to use great caution. As he was not well acquainted with the, case he would not like to say that the Hospital treat-, ment had been wrong. The operation, of re. moving the fluid was not very difficult, was very successful. " . This wag the case fop the plaintiff.

Mr. Gully asked the Conrt whether there i was a oase to go before the jury. He applied t for a nonsuit, submitting that the plaintiff | had failed to prove his allegations. There < was, he contended, no evidence to show that 1 hernia did not exist ; that the treatment was i not the proper treatment for pßoas abscess ; i or that the plaintiff had sustained per- 1 manent injury. _ 1 Mr. Jellicoe argued that there was cvi- i dence both of negligence and unskilful treat- ] ment. He pointed out that the damages 1 claimed were general damages. i His Honour said that the case was one I whioh he should prefer to leave to the jury, i but as Mr. Gully had put it to him point i blank, he must decide that there was no cvi- | dence to go to the jury. '• Mr. Jelliooe said that after his Honour's expression of opinion be would not ask that the case shonld go any further. His Honour thereupon entered up a nonsuit, with oosts on the middle scale.