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Keywords

negligencetrialtestimonymotionseizurerelevanceadmissibilitycredibility

negligencetrialtestimonymotionrelevanceadmissibility

Related Cases

Shelksohn v. Yun Szu Yeh, 281 P.3d 1218 (Table), 2009 WL 3191488

Facts

Johnna Shelksohn was taken to the hospital for labor, where she requested an epidural for pain relief. After the anesthesiologist, Dr. Yeh, administered the epidural, Johnna suffered a seizure, leading to an emergency cesarean section. She remained in a coma for seven days before passing away. Christopher Shelksohn, as the special administrator of Johnna's estate, filed a complaint against Dr. Yeh for medical negligence and wrongful death, but the jury found in favor of Dr. Yeh.

Christopher, individually and as special administrator of Johnna's estate and Guardian Ad Litem for Jordan and Linda (collectively Shelksohn), filed a complaint against Dr. Yeh alleging medical negligence, wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED).

Issue

Did the district court err in excluding Nurse Spector's testimony to impeach Nurse Clark and in granting Dr. Yeh's motions for judgment as a matter of law regarding the medical negligence claims?

Shelksohn argues that the district court abused its discretion when it prevented them from impeaching Nurse Clark with her prior inconsistent statement through Nurse Specter's testimony.

Rule

A district court has considerable discretion in determining the relevance and admissibility of evidence, and a motion for judgment as a matter of law should not be granted if there is sufficient evidence for a jury to consider.

A district court is afforded considerable discretion in determining the relevance and admissibility of evidence.

Analysis

The appellate court found that the district court abused its discretion by excluding Nurse Spector's testimony, which was critical for impeaching Nurse Clark's credibility. The court also determined that there was sufficient evidence presented regarding Jordan's medical negligence claim that warranted jury consideration, as reasonable persons could differ on the evidence.

We conclude that the district court abused its discretion when it failed to allow Nurse Spector to testify in order to impeach Nurse Clark with her prior inconsistent statements.

Conclusion

The appellate court reversed the district court's judgment and remanded the case for a new trial, concluding that the exclusion of Nurse Spector's testimony and the granting of judgment as a matter of law were erroneous.

Therefore, we conclude that the district court abused its discretion by not allowing Shelksohn to impeach Nurse Clark's testimony with her prior inconsistent statement and we reverse the judgment of the district court and remand this case back to the district court for a new trial consistent with this order.

Who won?

Dr. Yun Szu Yeh prevailed in the initial trial as the jury found him not negligent in his medical care.

The jury found Yun Szu Yeh, M.D., not negligent in the medical care he provided the decedent, Johnna Pullen.

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