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CAROLAN v. HILL9/18/1996
[553 NW2d Page 884]
In this medical malpractice action, James Carolan sued Donal D. Hill, D.O., Winn H. Gregory, M.D., Medical Arts Clinic, and Jefferson County Hospital (defendants) for an ulnar nerve injury he allegedly suffered during surgery. We find the district court did [553 NW2d Page 885]
not abuse its discretion in ruling that the peer review records in question were not discoverable and in excluding the rebuttal testimony of one of Carolan's experts. We find the district court did abuse its discretion in refusing to permit a nurse anesthetist to testify as an expert witness. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings.
On August 27, 1991, Carolan underwent surgery at Jefferson County Hospital to treat a severe reflex esophagitis. Dr. Gregory performed the surgery, and Dr. Hill administered the anesthesia. Following the surgery, Carolan began experiencing pain and numbness in his left arm. His arm was still hurting when he was discharged from the hospital on September 1. After numerous return visits to the hospital to have his arm examined, Carolan was diagnosed with an ulnar nerve injury to his left arm. On July 14, 1993, Carolan filed negligence and res ipsa loquitur claims against defendants, alleging the injury was caused by the improper positioning and padding of his arm during the administration of anesthesia during surgery.
During the course of discovery, Carolan learned that Dr. Robert Forbes, one of defendants' experts, had conducted reviews of the hospital's anesthesia department in 1989, 1991, and 1993. On January 6, 1995, Carolan served a subpoena duces tecum on Dr. Forbes, seeking all documents generated by virtue of these contacts. The defendants filed a motion to quash and the matter proceeded to a hearing. On January 9, after an in camera review of the documents, the district court determined they were privileged as peer review documents under Iowa Code section 147.135 (1993) and granted the motion to quash. Carolan subsequently filed a motion to exclude Dr. Forbes' testimony, arguing that if he could not discover the documents which formed the bases of his opinions, the testimony should not be allowed. On January 23, the district court denied the motion, stating that its ruling was subject to review based on Dr. Forbes' testimony at trial.
On January 12, eleven days before trial, the defendants Hill, Gregory, and Medical Arts Clinic filed a motion to exclude one of Carolan's experts, nurse Tafford Oltz, from testifying at trial. They argued that, under Iowa Code section 147.139, a nurse cannot testify as to the standard of care of a physician. The district court agreed and granted the motion to exclude.
The case was tried to a jury beginning on January 23. At the conclusion of defendants' case, Carolan sought to introduce rebuttal witnesses to refute defendants' position that ulnar nerve damage can occur regardless of what padding is done during the surgical procedure. The district court denied the request, holding that the proffered testimony was merely an expansion of Carolan's case-in-chief and not rebuttal.
On February 2, the jury returned a verdict for the defendants. Carolan filed a motion for new trial, which was denied by the district court. He raises three issues on appeal. First, Carolan contends the district court erred in its ruling on the peer review documents and on the motion to exclude Dr. Forbes' testimony. Second, he contends the district court erred in ruling that Oltz could not testify as an expert. Third, Carolan contends the district court erred in refusing to permit him to call one of the rebuttal witnesses.
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