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Hawes v. Chua3/29/2001
Appeal from the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
(Hon. Susan R. Winfield, Trial Judge)
Argued January 18, 2001
In this medical malpractice action relating to the fetal death of twins, the jury returned a verdict for appellees Maureen Chua, M.D., Maureen Chua, M.D., P.C., and Carin Kleiman, M.D. Appellants Trizah Hawes and Derrick Hawes filed a timely appeal, alleging several trial court errors, including the failure of the trial judge to strike the standard of care testimony of defense witness, Dr. Charles F. Hill, Jr. We affirm the judgment of the trial court and conclude, in part, that the trial court did not commit manifest error in admitting Dr. Hill's national standard of care testimony, since that testimony: (a) reflected some evidence that it was based on a national standard, and (b) was grounded on neither the expert's personal opinion, nor mere speculation or conjecture. We emphasize the closeness of this case, however, and reiterate that it is insufficient for a defense expert's standard of care testimony to merely recite the words "national standard of care."
We also conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by: (1) declining to remove a juror during the second week of trial because he recognized a defense expert who was a radiologist in a hospital emergency room ten years ago when the juror was an x-ray technician in the same hospital emergency room, and refusing to strike two jurors for cause during the voir dire process; (2) denying appellants' motion to strike the testimony of Dr. Chua as a sanction for her violation of the rule on witnesses; and (3) disallowing cross-examination of a defense expert as to financial bias based on commonality of insurance coverage between the expert and one of the defendants. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
FACTUAL SUMMARY
The record before us reveals the following pertinent facts. On December 25, 1994, Mrs. Hawes gave birth to stillborn identical twins by emergency C-section. The twins had died in utero one to two days earlier. One of appellants' experts, Dr. Janice Marie Lage, Vice Chairman of the Department of Pathology and Professor of Pathology, with expertise in obstetrical and perinatal pathology, at the Georgetown University Medical School, attributed the twins' death to twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, which in essence, means that one twin was drained of fluid by the other, and the second twin suffered from fluid overload from the first twin.
The case centered on the proper course of care and treatment for identical twins exposed to a risk of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, as well as a risk of intrauterine growth retardation. Dr. Chua initially provided care for Mrs. Hawes, who was diagnosed with the twin pregnancy on July 18, 1994. By November 1994, Dr. Chua's associate, Dr. Kleiman had assumed primary responsibility for Mrs. Hawes' care.
On November 29, 1994, when the twins were about 31 weeks into their fetal development, an in-office sonogram suggested that they were not developing properly when compared with a November 16th sonogram. A December 6th sonogram, performed at 32 weeks of growth by the Washington Radiology Associates, continued to show growth problems for the twins; they were getting smaller. No decision was made to hospitalize Mrs. Hawes or to deliver the babies, despite the results of the December 6th sonogram.
A complete biophysical profile, including a sonogram, was ordered on December 13th. However, the complete biophysical profile was never done. Dr. Kleiman became concerned for Mrs. Hawes' pregnancy and arranged for home uterine contraction monitoring. Dr. K
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