Donna B. Anglin and Robert B. Anglin v. Christus Schumpert Highland Health System

── Donna B. Anglin and Robert B. Anglin v. Christus Schumpert Highland Health System ── Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal Date: May 20, 2026 Author: COX Category: General Judgment rendered May 20, 2026. Application for rehearing may be filed within the delay allowed by Art. 2166, La. C.C.P. No. 56,769-CA COURT OF APPEAL SECOND CIRCUIT STATE OF LOUISIANA ***** DONNA ANGLIN AND ROBERT Plaintiffs-Appellants B. ANGLIN versus CHRISTUS SCHUMPERT Defendants-Appellees HIGHLAND HEALTH SYSTEM, ET AL. ***** Appealed from the First Judicial District Court for the Parish of Caddo, Louisiana Trial Court No. 569,316 Honorable Michael A. Pitman, Judge ***** WALTER FLANDERS CLAWSON Counsel for Appellees, Louisiana Patient’s Compensation Fund and the Louisiana Patient’s Compensation Fund Oversight Board LAW OFFICE OF SUSAN E. HAMM Counsel for Appellants By: Susan Elizabeth Hamm ***** Before COX, ROBINSON, and MARCOTTE, JJ. ROBINSON, J. This medical malpractice case proceeded to a jury trial after the defendant doctor, Dr. Kevin Cline, settled the claim against him for $100,000. The jury found that Dr. Cline’s breach of the standard of care did not cause injury over $100,000 to the plaintiffs that would not have otherwise occurred. The plaintiffs have appealed. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment. FACTS Donna Anglin suffered from urinary incontinence and a bladder prolapse into her vagina. She was examined by Dr. Tommy Mook of Regional Urology on August 14, 2009. Dr. Mook discussed an anterior repair and sling placement with her, and that his partner Dr. Cline would perform one of the procedures using mesh. Dr. Cline met with Donna on August 19, 2009, to discuss the two procedures. For the prolapse, he recommended a Pinnacle anterior repair with Obtryx sling. Donna had a long history of fibromyalgia, which had been diagnosed in 1996 by Dr. Larry Broadwell, who specialized in arthritis and rheumatology. On August 28, 2009, Donna, who was 57 years old at the time, underwent surgery to repair the bladder prolapse and to correct her urinary incontinence. As to the bladder prolapse procedure, the operative report named it as a “Pinnacle anterior repair with sacrospinous suspension using mesh anterior repair and Obtryx sling.”  Donna complained of severe pain in her left leg immediately after the surgery. Dr. Edward Anglin, an orthopedic surgeon who was related to Donna’s husband, examined her in the hospital on August 31. He thought that she had left sciatica secondary to pressure phenomenon. He ordered a Celestone injection. Donna was discharged from the hospital on September 1. Donna was seen at Regional Urology by Dr. Ernesto Spinazze on September 3, 2009. She complained of pain radiating down her left leg and thigh. He referred her to Dr. Ravish Patwardhan, a neurosurgeon, who saw Donna on September 9. Dr. Patwardhan wrote to Dr. Spinazze that an MRI of her lumbar spine showed no clear compressive lesion, and that he recommended an EMG study. Dr. J. Eric Bicknell performed a nerve conduction study on September 9, 2009. His impressions were somewhat reduced left peroneal and tibial compound muscle action potential (“CMAP”) amplitudes with prolonged left tibial H-reflex latency, which were suggestive of some degree of left sc