 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Bowman v. Gronstedt11/14/2002
gnancy and diabetes were eliminated by the examining doctor, and alcohol withdrawal was virtually eliminated based on her history. This leaves starvation as the likely cause of the fatty liver condition. The doctor also found that "various mechanisms," such as electrolyte disturbance, could have caused the fatty liver change.
The victim's husband testified that she frequently purged her stomach contents, and she consumed unusually large amounts of water. There was testimony by convenience store clerks at DeSoto and Dexter, along Wendy's route from Altoona to Pottawattamie County, that a total of twenty quarts of water was sold to a woman matching Wendy's description. Dr. Luchins testified that water intoxication "is a fairly common symptom in severe psychiatric illness" and "change your body chemistry." She apparently consumed five or six bottles of water before she got to the site where she died.
Dr. Bennett, the medical examiner, stated that electrolyte imbalance may cause fatty liver, to which he attributed Wendy's death. Dr. Luchins testified that purging can change body chemistry including the loss of electrolytes. Wendy's purging and water intoxication, both recognized symptoms of serious mental illness and a likely cause of fatty liver, supply a sufficient nexus between the mental condition of the victim and the fatty-liver condition that caused her death. The district court erred in concluding otherwise as a matter of law. We therefore affirm the ruling of the court of appeals, reverse the judgment of the district court, and remand for further proceedings.
DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS AFFIRMED; JUDGMENT OF DISTRICT COURT REVERSED; CASE REMANDED.
All justices concur except Carter and Ternus, JJ., who take no part.
This is not a published opinion.
|