 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Liborio v. King6/4/2002
PUBLISHED
This case arises from a medical malpractice action filed by Margaret Liborio (plaintiff) following the death of her husband, Thomas Liborio (Liborio). Plaintiff appeals from the verdict and judgment entered following jury trial, and from the trial court's denial of her motion for a new trial. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that there was no error in the jury verdict, and affirm the trial court's denial of plaintiff's motion.
On 31 December 1995, Liborio went to the emergency room at Cape Fear Memorial Hospital in Wilmington, North Carolina, complaining of nausea, abdominal pain, and gastric distress. The emergency room physician, Dr. Kastner, examined him and ordered an ultrasound, before contacting Dr. Thompson, the physician on call for Liborio's family physician, Dr. Visser.
When Dr. Thompson arrived, he examined Liborio and prescribed medication for pain and nausea. Dr. Kastner's and Dr. Thompson's initial assessment was that Liborio suffered from either gallstones or hepatitis. Because gallstones would require surgery, Dr. Thompson contacted Dr. Miles, the surgeon on duty. Dr. Miles examined Liborio, reviewed the test results, and concluded that Liborio's symptoms might be caused by gallstones. Dr. Miles did not want to perform gall bladder surgery until after Liborio had an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), a diagnostic surgical procedure. Accordingly, Dr. Thompson called in Dr. King (defendant), who was a gastroenterologist with experience performing ERCPs.
Defendant came to the hospital the next morning and reviewed Liborio's medical charts and test results. Defendant agreed with the preliminary diagnosis of Dr. Kastner, Dr. Thompson, and Dr. Miles, that Liborio likely suffered from gallstones or hepatitis. The test results offering conclusive proof of hepatitis take 96 hours to process, by which time Liborio could be in critical condition if he were suffering from gallstones. Consequently, defendant agreed with the other doctors, that an ERCP was the logical next step in Liborio's treatment, and that it should be performed as soon as possible. Defendant met with plaintiff and Liborio, and discussed the ERCP procedure with them, including a description of possible risks, before obtaining Liborio's signature on an informed consent form. The ERCP was performed that day and revealed that Liborio did not have gallstones, as previously believed. Unfortunately, Liborio developed pancreatitis and other serious complications from the surgery. He did not recover, and died on 1 March 1996.
On 25 February 1998, plaintiff filed suit against defendant, the hospital, and several of the physicians who had treated Liborio. Before trial, plaintiff's claims were resolved with respect to all those named in the suit except the defendants in the present appeal. The case was tried before a jury on 24 April 2000. During the charge conference, plaintiff asked the trial court to instruct the jury that informed consent is invalid if obtained by misrepresentation of a material fact; the trial court denied this request. During its deliberations, the jury asked for a copy of the court's charge, and also requested a copy of "the written law." The court provided a copy of its instructions to the jury and then asked for clarification on the meaning of "the written law." The jury indicated that it would review the charge and would inform the court if they needed more information; however, the jury made no further requests for written documents. At this point, plaintiff renewed her request that the jury be instructed on the effect of misrepresentation on informed consent, or that the jury be given a copy of the relevant statute; the reque
Page 1 2 3 4 5 North Carolina Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|