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Dumont v. Maaliki9/22/2000
ld have treated it to ensure Mrs. Dumont's survival. We find that the plaintiffs have borne their burden as defined in La. R.S. 9:2794 and specifically, that the plaintiffs have proven causation. Dr. Maaliki's failure to suspect the possibility of a pulmonary embolism and to treat it accordingly was the proximate cause of Mrs. Dumont's death.
The trial court's limiting of Dr. Fitzpatrick's testimony to the autopsy report Dr. Feaster Fitzpatrick was the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Mrs. Dumont. At the trial, the court limited his testimony to the contents of the autopsy report. He was only allowed to explain the significance of his findings in a proffer. We do not find any error in this limitation of testimony. Although the witness list was due 21 days prior to the trial, defendants filed theirs one and one- half days before trial, listing Dr. Fitzpatrick as a witness. The witness list referred plaintiffs to the doctor's autopsy report. At no time did defendants list Dr. Fitzpatrick as an expert. The plaintiffs had no disagreement with the autopsy report as prepared by Dr. Fitzpatrick and determined that an expert in the field of pathology was not needed at trial.
The autopsy report indicates that Dr. Fitzpatrick found that the cause of Mrs. Dumont's death was a massive pulmonary embolus. In his internal examination, the report states that a sectioning of the lungs revealed numerous organized blood clots obstructing the pulmonary artery branches. Dr. Fitzpatrick testified that he had no independent recollection of the autopsy and did not have any physical evidence of the autopsy to review. We do not find that the trial court abused its discretion in limiting the doctor's testimony to the findings in the report. Any additional testimony could only have been conjecture.
The court did allow Dr. Fitzpatrick to explain the significance of his findings in a proffer. We note that although the remainder of the doctor's testimony was proffered, the trial court heard the balance of the testimony and failed to find the evidence trustworthy. The trial court noted that there was no foundation for Dr. Fitzpatrick's testimony regarding the significance of the report, as he had no independent recollection of it and had no evidence to review.
For the reasons above, the trial court's judgment in favor of the plaintiffs is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
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