MS: Drs. and nurses failed to treat bedsores: court allocated fifty percent of liability to each.
CASE FACTS: Hattie Venton was admitted to the ICU at Delta Regional Medical Center (DRMC) on January 7, 1999, after several fainting episodes. At the time, Venton was seventy-eight years old and suffered from multiple health problems such as anemia, gastrointestinal bleeding, hematuria, and atrial fibrillation. Approximately ten days...

Artery lacerated in angioplasty: verdict for defendants.
CASE ON POINT: Beerman v. Covenant Health Care-Cooper, No. 261978 (Mich. App. 12/19/2006) N.W.2d -MI ISSUE: Juries do not always return the verdicts we may expect. This is so whether such verdicts are for or against persons who are allegedly victims of medical malpractice. Courts often affirm...

Litigation privilege and disclosure of expert's file.
INTRODUCTION Expert opinion at trial is an exception in the law of evidence. The unique role of the testimonial expert, together with the fact that the expert is permitted to give opinion evidence where normally opinions are inadmissible, in part explain the steady expansion of disclosure...

Expert witnessing in forensic accounting.
KF8968 2005011510 1-930217-14-5 Expert witnessing in forensic accounting. Title main entry. Ed. by Walter J. Pagano and Thomas A. Buckoff. R. T. Edwards, Inc., [c]2005 189 p. $59.00 In 12 articles, expert contributors...

Jury instructions, not problematic expert testimony, in child sexual assault cases.
I. INTRODUCTION Especially when dealing with the despicable and emotionally charged crime of child sexual abuse, the courts must vigilantly balance the state's interest in punishing a criminal wrongdoer against the defendant's right to a fair and impartial trial. (1) The New Jersey Supreme Court observed that,...

Expert handwriting testimony: is the writing really on the wall?
I. INTRODUCTION On April 3, 1936, the state of New Jersey executed Bruno Richard Hauptmann for the kidnapping and murder of Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr., son of aviator Charles Lindbergh. (1) Fours year prior to his execution, Bruno Hauptmann found himself defending his very life in the...

RN's expert testimony not 'required'--not 'barred'.
CASE ON POINT: Davis v. Montgomery Cnty. Mem. Hosp., No. 6-086/05 (Iowa App. 07/12/2006)--IA CASE FACTS: Joyce Davis was transferred to Montgomery County Memorial Hospital in July of 2001, following hip replacement surgery. She was a skilled-care patient, receiving rehabilitation following surgery. On the afternoon of August...

Giving depositions as a defendant or an expert.
Depositions of defendant health care providers and retained experts are extremely important in health care liability claims. Whereas in other types of claims, depositions are used primarily as a tool to discover and clarify the facts, in health care liability claims depositions also serve to discover and evaluate the...

OH: in limine ruling on admissibility of expert: plaintiff's 'failure to proffer' expert's testimony.
CASE FACTS: In November of 2004, Michael Bloomfield, in his capacity of the Administrator of the Estate of Katherine A. Bloomfield, brought a suit for wrongful death and survivorship against Dr. Mark Fox and Blanchard Valley Medical Associates, Inc. Bloomfield alleged that the defendants were guilty of medical malpractice,...

Flexible standards, deferential review: Daubert's legacy of confusion.
I. INTRODUCTION Expert evidence--particularly expert scientific evidence--has long been thought to require special treatment in the courtroom. (1) Concern about "junk science" and fear that jurors will be easily impressed by such evidence are two oft-cited reasons for giving special attention to expert testimony. (2) Addressing these...