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Harris v. Miller1/28/1994
EXUM, Chief Justice.
Of primary importance in this case is the following question: under what circumstances should a surgeon in charge of an operation be held vicariously liable for the negligence of medical personnel who assist in performing the operation?
I
On 1 June 1981, Mrs. Etta Harris underwent back surgery under general anesthesia at Beaufort County Hospital. Defendant George Miller, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, performed the surgery assisted by William Hawkes, a nurse anesthetist. As a result of inadequate oxygenation during the surgery, Mrs. Harris suffered brain damage and paralysis. Some six years later, she died from complications secondary to the brain damage.
In 1983, Mrs. Harris and her husband filed suit for personal injury and loss of consortium against the hospital, Dr. Miller and Nurse Hawkes. They later settled their claims against the hospital and Nurse Hawkes, executing a covenant not to sue, but specifically reserved the right to pursue any claims against Dr. Miller. When Mrs. Harris died, the complaint was amended to allege wrongful death and the case proceeded against Dr. Miller on theories of direct and vicarious liability. Plaintiff claimed that Dr. Miller was negligent in causing a severe bleeding problem during the surgery, in failing to properly treat the bleeding problem and in failing to adequately supervise Nurse Hawkes. Plaintiff also claimed that Dr. Miller should be held liable for the negligence of Nurse Hawkes under the doctrine of respondeat superior. At the close of plaintiff's evidence, the trial court granted Dr. Miller's motion for a directed verdict on the vicarious liability claim, finding the evidence insufficient to establish a master-servant relationship between Dr. Miller and Nurse Hawkes. As an alternative basis for the directed verdict, the trial court held that the prior release of Nurse Hawkes served to exonerate Dr. Miller. The case was submitted to the jury on the sole issue of Dr. Miller's negligence.
The jury found for Dr. Miller and plaintiff appealed. The Court of Appeals, Judge Phillips Dissenting, affirmed the judgment below. 103 N.C. App. 312, 407 S.E.2d 556 (1991). Plaintiff appealed to this Court on the basis of the Dissent, presenting the following issues: 1) whether the trial court erred in directing a verdict on the issue of Dr. Miller's vicarious liability, and 2) whether the trial court erred in excluding certain testimony of plaintiff's expert on nurse anesthesia care. We granted plaintiff's petition for discretionary review of an additional issue, not addressed by the Court of Appeals: whether the trial court erred in ruling that the release of the servant, Nurse Hawkes, extinguished the vicarious liability of the master, Dr. Miller? Having concluded that the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the trial court's rulings on the first two issues, and that the trial court erred in its ruling on the release issue, we now reverse the Court of Appeals and grant plaintiff a new trial.
II
Plaintiff's evidence tended to show the following.
In early 1981, Mrs. Harris began experiencing severe back pain. She consulted Dr. Miller, an orthopedic surgeon, who diagnosed a ruptured disc requiring surgery. Dr. Miller performed the surgery on June 1, 1981, at Beaufort County Hospital, where he had staff privileges. Anesthesia was administered by Nurse Hawkes, a certified registered nurse anesthetist employed by the hospital and assigned to the case by the hospital's Chief Anesthetist. Because the hospital did not employ a staff anesthesiologist, Nurse Hawkes worked for the duration of the case, as stated in the hos
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