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Keywords

plaintiffdefendantattorneytrialverdicttestimonymalpractice

plaintiffdefendanttrialverdicttestimonymalpractice

Related Cases

Street v. Hedgepath, 607 A.2d 1238, 75 Ed. Law Rep. 336

Facts

Victoria Street began treatment with Dr. Hedgepath for diabetes in 1982 and was seen regularly until 1985. During a visit on October 24, 1985, Dr. Hedgepath failed to notice an enlarged thyroid, despite a photograph taken shortly before that showed swelling. Mrs. Street was later diagnosed with thyroid cancer that had metastasized, leading to her death in 1986. Following a mistrial in the malpractice case against Dr. Hedgepath, Mr. Street filed a separate action against Dr. Hedgepath's attorney and others, alleging breach of the physician-patient confidentiality due to ex parte communications.

Victoria Street first saw Dr. Hedgepath for treatment of her diabetes in 1982. Over the next three years Mrs. Street saw Dr. Hedgepath approximately every four to six weeks.

Issue

The main legal issues were whether the trial court erred in excluding expert testimony regarding the standard of care and whether the surviving spouse waived the physician-patient privilege by filing the malpractice action.

Rule

In medical malpractice cases, the plaintiff must prove through expert testimony that there was an applicable standard of care, that the defendant breached that standard, and that the breach was a proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries. Additionally, filing a malpractice complaint can result in a waiver of the physician-patient privilege.

In a medical malpractice case the plaintiff must prove, generally through expert testimony, that there was an applicable standard of care, that the defendant breached that standard, and that the breach was a proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries.

Analysis

The court found that the expert testimony of Dr. Asplin was inadmissible because it was based solely on a photograph and lacked sufficient foundation in the medical community. Without this testimony, the court concluded that the evidence was insufficient to establish that Dr. Hedgepath breached the standard of care. Furthermore, the court ruled that by filing the malpractice action, Mr. Street waived the physician-patient privilege, allowing the treating physicians to testify about their communications.

The court found that the expert testimony of Dr. Asplin was inadmissible because it was based solely on a photograph and lacked sufficient foundation in the medical community.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the directed verdict in favor of Dr. Hedgepath and upheld the dismissal of the breach of confidentiality claim against the other defendants.

Who won?

Dr. Hedgepath prevailed in the malpractice action because the court found that the plaintiff failed to provide sufficient evidence of a breach of the standard of care. The court also ruled that the waiver of the physician-patient privilege allowed for the disclosure of relevant medical information.

Dr. Hedgepath prevailed in the malpractice action because the court found that the plaintiff failed to provide sufficient evidence of a breach of the standard of care.

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