Chatelain v. Kelley

David Newbern, Justice.

At the end of a full-term pregnancy in 1989, appellant Joanne Mote, whose name is now Joanne Chatelain, was admitted to a hospital for delivery of her child. While she was awaiting delivery, an emergency Caesarian section became necessary, and Dr. Lawrence A. Kelley, the appellee, was to perform the procedure. Ms. Mote and her then-husband, appellant Daryl Mote, alleged the child was stillborn due to a delay in the operation caused by Dr. Kelley. They sued Dr. Kelley and the hospital for wrongful death.

After a voluntary nonsuit in 1992, the complaint was refiled against…