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Grote v. J.S. Mayer & Co.6/6/1990
Per Curiam.
Robert W. Grote appeals from the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants-appellees J.S. Mayer & Company, Inc. and James S. Mayer, and from its denial of Grote's cross-motiosfor summary judgment, on his claim alleging that Mayer, a licensed industrial psychologist, was liable for negligent counseling rendered to him in March 1975 and February 1976. Grote's first assignment of error raises issues concerning the necessity of expert testimony in cases involving malpractice and negligent infliction of emotional distress in the field of psychology, and whether Grote, by having acquired knowledge through personal investigation and research, could provide the expert testimony himself. Grote's second assignment of error is addressed to the trial court's denial of his motion for summary judgment, but merely reiterates the arguments made in his first assignment of error.
Grote first sought vocational counseling from Mayer in March 1975, when Mayer gave him a series of vocational-skills tests. Grote met with Mayer four more times in the period from March 1975 to February 1976, and contacted him by telephone most recently in the fall of 1982. Grote claims, among other things, that Mayer failed to refer him to a clinical psychologist for treatment of his mental illness and that Mayer prevented him from seeking appropriate treatment and aggravated his condition.
On April 22, 1986, Grote filed his complaint against the defendants, claiming they were responsible for injuries related to his ongoing mental illness. In the course of the proceedings Grote identified Roger H. Fisher, Ph.D., as his expert witness. In his deposition on August 7, 1987, however, Dr. Fisher exculpated the defendants from any liability, stating that he did not believe Mayer's conduct to have any causal connection with Grote's illness. During a hearing on the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment, the trial court gave Grote the opportunity to obtain another expert witness, apparently in consideration of Grote's pro se status and the fact that Dr. Fisher himself had been treating Grote for the past several years. Grote did not avail himself of this opportunity, arguing instead that either he was qualified as an expert himself or that expert testimony was not required to prove causation in this case. The trial court then granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants.
In his first assignment of error contending that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants, Grote reiterates the arguments made before the trial court, that either he was qualified to provide expert testimony with regard to the causation of his mental illness, or that no expert testimony was required to prove causation. We do not agree with either contention.
Expert testimony is usually necessary to establish the recognized standards of the medical community by which the defendant's performance is measured in medical malpractice cases, and the failure to establish those standards is fatal to a plaintiff's presentation of a prima facie malpractice claim. Bruni v. Tatsumi (1976), 46 Ohio St.2d 127, 75 O.O. 2d 184, 346 N.E.2d 673. An exception to the general rule has been recognized where the standard of care is sufficiently obvious that nonprofessionals can reasonably evaluate the conduct. Whiteleather v. Yosowitz (1983), 10 Ohio App.3d 272, 10 OBR 386, 461 N.E.2d 1331. Issues involving the causation or aggravation of mental illness have also been determined to involve a field of scientific inquiry where expert medical testimony is indispensable. Culp v. Federated Dept. Stores, Inc. (1965), 11 Ohio App.2d 165, 40 O.O. 2d 316, 22
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