Tag: medical malpractice

New Georgia Supreme Court Ruling Limits Appellate Review of Jury Verdicts

The Georgia Supreme Court decision in Rockdale Hospital, LLC v. Evans clears the way for trial courts, without much in the way of appellate review, to retry cases if the judge believes the jury got it wrong. S18G1189, S18G1190 (October 7, 2019).

The case at issue involved a medical malpractice lawsuit in which a jury awarded $1.1 million dollars to for the injured party’s past medical bills, but zero damages for future medical expenses, past and future lost wages, and past and future pain and suffering. The injured party appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals, arguing that awarding zero damages for pain and suffering was “clearly inadequate” based on the $1.1 million award for past medical bills. The Georgia Court of Appeals agreed the verdict was “clearly inadequate,” and instructed the trial court to retry the case. The decision makes sense because it seems impossible to have $1 million of medical treatment without, at the same time, experiencing significant pain and suffering.  

The Georgia Court of Appeals’ decision was appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court (the highest court in Georgia). The Georgia Supreme Court disagreed with the Georgia Court of Appeals and overruled its decision. The Georgia Supreme Court decided that whether or not to retry a case is almost always up to the trial judge, not the appellate courts. As long as the trial judge reasonably exercises his or her discretion, the appellate courts must go along with the judge’s decision regarding whether a jury verdict was clearly excessive or inadequate. The reasoning is that trial judges personally observed the witnesses and evidence, and are therefore in the best position to evaluate jury verdicts. The Court concluded that appellate courts have authority to set aside jury verdicts only when the verdict is so irrational as to be the obvious result of bias, corruption, or prejudice; this is characterized by the Court as an “extremely high” threshold. In other words, in most cases, appellate courts lack authority to review a trial court’s decision on this issue.

We’ll have to see how this ruling plays out, but in theory the decision cuts both ways because it potentially impacts both small and large verdicts. The takeaway is that in most instances, trial judges now get to decide if the verdict was too large or too small with little oversight from the appellate courts.

Medical Malpractice Affidavits: Causation

A recent appellate case provides a cautionary tale for persons making a claim for injuries due to medical malpractice. Edokpolor v. Grady (A16A1031, decided 9/14/2018) is a recent medical malpractice case that was thrown out of court because the injured party’s expert affidavit was deficient.

In Georgia, negligence claims against professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and engineers require  an expert affidavit verifying the wrongdoing. This affidavit is a mandatory requirement in all malpractice claims in Georgia.

For example, in a malpractice claim against a doctor, the affidavit must be from another doctor who practices the same type of medicine and the affidavit must state that culpable doctor’s treatment of the injured patient fell below the standard of care for similar doctors; importantly, the affidavit must also explain how the alleged negligence caused the injury to the patient.

In Edikpolor, the patient reported to Grady Memorial Hospital with cardiac disease and other issues. After spending 30 days in the hospital, the doctors determined the patient needed a colonoscopy. To prepare for the examination, the doctors ordered that bowel preparation medicine be administered to the patient via a feeding tube. Contrary to these instructions, the nurses administered the medication by mouth. The patient allegedly choked on the medication, which caused fluid to enter her lungs, and she died several weeks later as a result.

The patient’s family sued the hospital, which included a malpractice affidavit from another doctor. The affidavit stated that the nurses were negligent in not following the doctor’s order to use a feeding tube, and that the negligence was the cause of the patient’s death.

The problem in this case is that the affidavit was ruled inadequate because it didn’t explain how and why feeding fluid by mouth is more risky than feeding through a tube. On the other hand, the hospital introduced a contradictory expert affidavit, which stated that choking could occur whether taken by mouth or feeding tube because  what happens is the liquid ends up in the stomach and is then regurgitated into the throat; it is at this point when the liquid is inhaled into the lungs. In other words, administering the fluid by mouth was not necessarily the cause of the injuries.

This case shows that “[a] plaintiff must show that the purported violation or deviation [by the medical professional] is the proximate cause of the injuries sustained. He must prove that the injuries complained of proximately resulted from such want of care or skill. A bare possibility of such result is not sufficient. There can be no recovery where there is no showing to any reasonable degree of medical certainty that the injuries could have been avoided.”

It’s easy to be critical after the fact, but the case underscores that not only must you show negligence, but you must be able to show with relative certainty that the negligence caused the injuries.

Medical Malpractice Affidavits

Sworn affidavit from another doctor required in Georgia

To make sure a lawsuit against a doctor has merit, an injured party must provide an affidavit from an impartial doctor (i.e., an expert doctor) confirming the alleged malpractice of the treating doctor.  Georgia courts have stated that the purpose of this requirement is to “reduce the number of frivolous malpractice suits being filed.” Oller v. Rockdale Hosp., A17A1208 (decided August 14, 2017). From an injured party’s perspective, meeting this requirement isn’t easy. First, getting a doctor to review a case is very expensive. Second, this process requires a doctor to stand in judgment of another doctor, which understandably isn’t something most doctors want to do.

If an expert doctor reviews the facts and medical records, and agrees to sign a malpractice affidavit, the story isn’t over. The affidavit has to be carefully drafted because the courts have dismissed a number of medical malpractice claims due to inadequate affidavits. To overcome a challenge to a medical malpractice affidavit, the expert doctor must allege the following:

  • that the treating doctor failed to satisfy the standard of care for doctors treating a patient under similar conditions and like surrounding circumstances; and
  • that the expert doctor has knowledge and experience in the practice or speciality that is relevant to the acts or omissions alleged against the treating doctor (importantly, a medical doctor does not have to practice in same specialty as defendant medical doctor to be qualified to submit expert affidavit).

Meeting these requirements is a prerequisite for filing a valid lawsuit against a doctor and is a critical part of recovering damages against a doctor in Georgia. Please call us for a free consultation if you been injured due to the negligence of a doctor–we’ll be happy to review your options and discuss how we can help get your claim resolved.