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Christensen v. Munsen2/10/1994
The main issue presented is whether the trial court erred in allowing one of plaintiff's treating physicians to testify as a defense witness in this medical malpractice action. We hold that no error occurred and affirm the judgment of the trial court in favor of the defendant.
Facts
From August 11, 1980, until June 8, 1987, Seattle ophthalmologist Richard Munsen, the defendant herein, treated Maren Christensen, the plaintiff herein, for pars planitis and its complications. Pars planitis is an inflammation of the eye and both its cause and cure are unknown. The disease generally occurs in children and young adults and "burns out" after several years. If the complications of pars planitis can be controlled, the prognosis is good. One complication of pars planitis is cystoid macular edema (CME), which is a swelling of the retina. CME causes the central vision to become blurred and fuzzy, and, if untreated, can lead to permanent central vision loss and legal blindness. Another possible complication of pars planitis is glaucoma, an elevated pressure of the eye that ultimately leads to optic nerve damage and vision defects if not treated.
While under the defendant's care, plaintiff developed CME secondary to her pars planitis. The defendant treated plaintiff's CME first with oral steroids and then with steroid injections. In October 1982, the defendant injected Depo-Medrol, and in April 1983 he injected Kenalog. When plaintiff returned to defendant a few months later, she had elevated pressure in both eyes. The defendant noted that plaintiff was a probable "steroid responder", or a person who has temporary eye pressure increases -- temporary glaucoma -- after being given steroids.
Over the course of the next 5 years, the defendant administered Depo-Medrol and then Kenalog in an attempt to cure plaintiff's pars planitis and CME. During this time, plaintiff's eye pressures fluctuated. The plaintiff last visited the defendant on June 8, 1987. By this time her eye pressures were up and were not going down as they had previously. The defendant wanted another glaucoma specialist to recommend a course of action and referred plaintiff to Dr. Richard Mills, a professor in the ophthalmology department at the University of Washington who subspecializes in glaucoma.
When Dr. Mills saw plaintiff on July 27, 1987, her eye pressures had increased significantly, and Dr. Mills' diagnosis was severe intractable glaucoma secondary to pars planitis. Plaintiff then underwent a lengthy series of surgeries and continuing steroid treatment to control her eye pressures and to remove membranes and cataracts.
On November 13, 1989, plaintiff filed suit against the defendant, alleging that she was legally blind as a result of his failure to follow the standard of care required of an ophthalmologist in Washington. The main issue at trial was whether plaintiff's glaucoma and resulting legal blindness were caused by the defendant's injections of Kenalog or by the plaintiff's underlying eye disease, pars planitis. Plaintiff also sought to show that the defendant failed to obtain her informed consent before administering Kenalog.
After 4 hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant. Plaintiff then filed an appeal which the Court of Appeals certified to this court pursuant to RCW 2.06.030(d). Five issues are presented dealing with the admission of expert testimony and certain instructional rulings. Plaintiff does not, however, challenge the sufficiency of the evidence.
I
The principal issue is whether the trial court erred in allowing one of the plaintiff's treating physic
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