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WALL v. SUITS2/27/1995
These medical malpractice claims arise out of the diagnosis of a tumor located in Respondent Katlyn Wall's neck, and the surgery to remove the tumor which resulted in severe injury to Katlyn's facial nerve. The jury awarded $142,000.00 actual damages to Katlyn's parents, and $850,000.00 actual damages to Katlyn. Appellant appeals both verdicts on the issues of liability and improper jury charge. He also appeals the trial
In an action at law, on appeal of a case tried by a jury, the jurisdiction of the appellate court extends merely to correction of errors of law, and a factual finding of the jury will not be disturbed unless a review of the record discloses that there is no evidence which reasonably supports the jury's findings. Townes Associates, Ltd. v. City of Greenville, 266 S.C. 81, 221 S.E.2d 773 (1976).
Approximately two months after Katlyn was born, Ms. Wall noticed a knot in the front of Katlyn's right ear. On October 15, 1990, Ms. Wall took Katlyn to see Appellant, for a surgical consultation. After a physical examination, Appellant diagnosed the knot as lymphangioma, and arranged to have it surgically removed on October 25, 1990. There is no dispute that proper treatment of a lymphangioma is surgical removal. Upon making the incision, however, Appellant observed that the tumor looked different than he expected. Nevertheless, Appellant proceeded to remove it.
A pathology report later confirmed the tumor was not, in fact, a lymphangioma, but was a hemangioma. Appellant and both experts agree that a hemangioma should not immediately be surgically removed. Rather, hemangioma tumors generally spontaneously disappear after a period of time, and surgery is not necessary.
It became apparent immediately after the surgery that Katlyn had a partial paralysis (paresis) on the right side of her face, causing that side to droop. It was later determined Appellant had transected the trunk of Katlyn's facial nerve. Katlyn continued to see Appellant until April 2, 1991, when he referred her to a plastic surgeon in Spartanburg. The plastic surgeon immediately referred Katlyn to Dr. Julia Terzis, a plastic surgeon in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Terzis noted the following problems:
[Katlyn] had a global right facial paralysis. That means she
was unable to raise the eyebrow; she was unable to close
her eyes; there was no appearance or presence of a blink on
the right eye; there was uncontrolled blinking on that side;
there was no smile line, or nasolabial fold; there was no
pressure generated on the right cheek; and she was drooling
and dribbling when she was asked to drink.
So she had difficulty using a straw and she had no
movement in the depressor or the platysma muscles. So she
had a global paralysis on the right.
Dr. Terzis began the first of a series of operations on Katlyn on April 18, 1991. On this date, Dr. Terzis had to harvest a nerve graft from Katlyn's left leg and graft the proximal facial nerve to its five corresponding distal branches. By August 25, 1993, Katlyn had reached a plateau as far as the improvement expected from the April 1991 surgery. At that time, her eye closed completely, although the blink in that eye was incomplete and a little slower than that in the left. Also, except in extremes of animation, her face appeared much more symmetrical. However, Dr. Terzis anticipated the need for two, and possibly three, more reconstructive surgeries in the future. Dr. Terzis and Appellant both agreed Katlyn will never be "normal."
I.
Appellant contends the jury's verdicts are against the fair preponderance of the evidence. We disagree. The trial judge has the authority to g
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