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Ferguson v. Dyer3/28/2002
rden of proof. The trial court then instructed the jurors that the burden of proof had shifted to Dr. Dyer to prove that the hospital was negligent and that its negligence proximately caused injury to the plaintiff. Dr. Dyer then was indeed permitted the "last word," in the form of a surrebuttal, in which the issue or negligence on the part of the hospital was addressed.
R.C. 2315.01 specifically provides that the court, "for special reasons," may alter the order of argument otherwise called for under the statute. Under the circumstances, the trial court's decision to allow a surrebuttal on the part of appellee does not constitute an abuse of discretion, and given the restricted scope of the rebuttal, little, if any, prejudice to appellant can be discerned. Appellant's second assignment of error is accordingly overruled.
In accordance with the foregoing, appellant's first and second assignments of error are overruled, and the judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
BOWMAN and BROWN, JJ., concur.
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