 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Snyder v. Turk8/19/1993
WILSON, Judge.
The facts in this case occurred during a gall bladder removal operation at St. Elizabeth Medical Center on September 3, 1991. The operation took approximately one and one-half hours. The operating surgeon was the defendant-appellee, Dr. Robert Turk. The plaintiff-appellant, Barbara Ann Snyder, was the scrub nurse. The patient, another doctor, a medical student, and two other nurses were present during the operation.
Snyder filed a complaint seeking damages from Dr. Turk based upon allegation of intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil battery and slander.
The plaintiff has appealed from the order dismissing her complaint with prejudice after the trial court removed all issues from jury consideration by granting the defendant a directed verdict at the close of the plaintiff's case-in-chief. In her three assignments of error, the plaintiff contends that the trial court erred in granting a directed verdict on each of the three claims.
Dr. Turk began to perform a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. When difficulties occurred during the procedure, Dr. Turk converted the operation to an open procedure. Dr. Turk testified that "I had reached a level of frustration both by the difficulty of the procedure and the difficult exposure and with the instruments." He was also not happy with Snyder's performance.
The plaintiff testified that Dr. Turk entered the operating room a little after 5:30 p.m. followed by Dr. Clark:
"[A.] I said good afternoon Dr. Turk and he didn't say anything.
"* * *
"Q. Any conversation at this time between you and the defendant?
"A. Dr. Turk looked at Dr. Clark at that point and said, 'She's already made three mistakes.'
"Q. Did you respond?
"A. I said, what have I done Dr. Turk? and he ignored me.
"Q. Does the laparoscopic procedure begin at this point?
"A. Yes.
"Q. And what talk about the, sort of the beginning of the procedure, how does it get going?
"A. Well the beginning of the procedure, I hand off the light cord and the circulating nurse attaches the camera head to the telescope and we start the procedure as planned.
"Q. Was there some problem with trocars or the tubes that will go through the gentleman?
"A. Yes.
"Q. What was the problem?
"A. Dr. Turk had difficulty inserting the trocar through the abdomen. He had to make a couple attempts. He wasn't getting into the peritoneum which allowed him to get into the abdominal cavity which allowed him to blow the CO2 in, the gas.
"Q. Did Dr. Turk make any comment to you that you had given him the wrong-
"A. He made a comment like, you sabotaged this case again."
At this point, Dr. Turk asked for a longer trocar. It is clear from the evidence that longer trocars were obtained from a supply cupboard.
Dr. Turk then inserted the video camera; however, the picture was a little hazy. The plaintiff attempted to eliminate the hazy picture:
"He said, don't you know how to trouble shoot? Why are you so incompetent? Why would they put somebody in who doesn't know how to use the equipment."
At about this point, the operation was converted to an open incision to do the open cholecystectomy, after Dr. Turk identified a gangrenous gall bladder and Dr. Clark identified it as being friable. The open procedure required a six-inch incision.
After testifying about the conversion, the plaintiff identified plaintiff's exhibit 4 as a regular right-angle cla
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Ohio Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|