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Juchniewicz v. Bridgeport Hospital12/7/2004
efendant denied all the allegations of negligence and, at trial, was steadfast in his assertion that he had not been negligent. The defendant claimed that he had acted reasonably in the circumstances presented to him and that the circumstances consisted, in large measure, of a series of telephone conversations between himself and the plaintiff's decedent during which she made certain incorrect and incomplete representations to him regarding her symptoms and history of treatment.
In a medical malpractice case, the standard of care for a treating physician is outlined by General Statutes § 52-184c (a), which provides in relevant part: "The prevailing professional standard of care for a given health care provider shall be that level of care, skill and treatment which, in light of all relevant surrounding circumstances, is recognized as acceptable and appropriate by reasonably prudent similar health care providers." The specific standard of care in each case is described to the jury by expert testimony. Marchell v. Whelchel, 66 Conn. App. 574, 582, 785 A.2d 253 (2001). An assessment of whether a physician met the standard of care includes a review of "all relevant surrounding circumstances" of the treatment. General Statutes § 52-184c (a); Borkowski v. Sacheti, supra, 43 Conn. App. 324-25. The circumstances relevant to the treatment include discussions between the patient and physician regarding the patient's symptoms and specific health concerns.
The plaintiff claims that the defendant improperly introduced evidence or argued that the plaintiff's decedent had failed to seek proper medical attention, and that she failed to tell her health care providers, including the defendant, that her chills were so severe that they constituted rigors and that her shoulder was increasingly painful, red and swollen. The plaintiff claims that this evidence was introduced in order to convince the jury that the plaintiff's decedent contributed to her death. We are unpersuaded. On the basis of our review of the record, we conclude that the defendant did not advance a defense that the plaintiff's decedent had been contributorily negligent, but rather adduced evidence of the complaints, symptoms and treatment history provided by the plaintiff's decedent to the defendant during telephone conversations at different times during the weekend so that the jury could fairly assess whether he had acted reasonably under the particular factual circumstances he confronted. Contrary to the plaintiff's assertion, we conclude that the defendant properly used that evidence to support his position that, on the basis of representations of the plaintiff's decedent to him about her symptoms, complaints and course of treatment, he acted in accordance with the applicable standard of care.
The plaintiff also claims that the defendant improperly introduced evidence or argued that the plaintiff's decedent acted negligently when she obtained a prescription for Roxicet and then misled or lied to the defendant about obtaining the medication, that she was negligent when she misled or lied to the defendant when she told him that she was seeking treatment for her shoulder from an orthopedic physician who prescribed Roxicet, and that she acted negligently when she told the defendant that the shoulder injury was unrelated to the infection. The plaintiff's argument fails because the record discloses that this evidence, too, was utilized by the defendant not to prove the negligence of the plaintiff's decedent, but rather in support of the defendant's claim that he acted reasonably under the circumstances he faced. Specifically, the defendant argued that in light of the particular circumstances he faced, it was reasonable for him to have conclud
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