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Merriam v. Wanger8/15/2000
Argued: June 5, 2000
William Wanger, M.D., appeals from the judgment entered in the Superior Court (Oxford County, Kravchuk, J.) on a jury verdict in favor of Laurel Merriam in her medical malpractice action against him. On appeal, Wanger claims that: (1) there is insufficient evidence of proximate cause; and (2) admission of certain portions of Merriam's expert testimony violated the discovery rules and unfairly prejudiced him. Because the record contains no evidence of causation beyond what may be characterized as speculation, we vacate the judgment.
I. CASE HISTORY
In 1992 and 1993, Laurel Merriam was exploring medical procedures to restore her fertility. On January 25, 1993, as part of this process, Merriam underwent a procedure which Merriam acknowledged created a risk of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID).
On February 23, 1993, Merriam visited the emergency room at the Rumford Community Hospital complaining of abdominal pain. Her pain was so severe that she required the assistance of a friend to walk into the emergency room. At the emergency room, she was treated by Wanger who took Merriam's history and examined her. In the course of his examination, Wanger found that Merriam had an elevated SED rate of 46, an elevated white blood cell count of 16.6, a respiration rate of 20, and normal blood pressure and temperature. He also tested her for chlamydia and gonorrhea, which are both sexually transmitted diseases. Based on his examination, Wanger diagnosed Merriam's condition as PID, prescribed an oral antibiotic, and sent her home.
On March 16, 1993, Merriam was examined by another doctor who discovered an abscess in her abdomen. In April and May 1993, Merriam underwent surgeries to alleviate the abscess. Initially Merriam felt better, but by August 1993 she was again suffering dull pains in her abdomen. Because of the removal of one of her ovaries and the scarring that had occurred around the other in the earlier surgeries, Merriam underwent a hysterectomy in May 1994, to relieve the abdominal pain she had continued to suffer.
At trial, Merriam presented the testimony of three expert witnesses seeking to establish (i) that Wanger acted negligently on February 23; and (ii) that his negligence resulted in Merriam being required to undergo further surgical procedures to alleviate the abdominal pain she was suffering, including the total hysterectomy that eliminated the possibility that she would regain her fertility.
After hearing the evidence, the jury concluded that Wanger was negligent, that his negligence was the proximate cause of Merriam's injuries, and that Merriam had suffered $150,000 in damages as a result. On appeal, Wanger argues that there was insufficient evidence from which the jury could have concluded that his negligence was a proximate cause of the injuries Merriam suffered. He also challenges two evidentiary rulings by the trial court.
II. DISCUSSION
This Court reviews a claim of insufficiency of the evidence to support a verdict to "determine if any reasonable view of the evidence and those inferences that are justifiably drawn from that evidence supports the jury verdict." Kaechele v. Kenyon Oil Co., Inc., 2000 ME 39, ยง 17, 747 A.2d 167, 173 (quoting Bates v. Anderson, 614 A.2d 551, 552 (Me. 1992)). "A judgment as a matter of law is improper if 'any reasonable view of the evidence could sustain a verdict for the opposing party.'" Id. (quoting Currier v. Toys 'R' Us, Inc., 680 A.2d 453, 455 (Me. 1996)).
" o establish liability in a medical malpractice case, the plaintiff must show that the defendant's departure from a recognized standard of car
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