Chupka v. Rigsby8/27/1991
Per Curiam.
The plaintiffs, Thomas and Melodee Chupka, individually and on behalf of their daughter, Krista Chupka, commenced this medical malpractice action in the Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County as a result of injuries allegedly caused by the negligence of the defendants, Dr. William Rigsby and Dr. Robert Klinger, at or about the time of the birth of Krista on September 20, 1980. Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that the medical malpractice of the defendants caused Krista to sustain significant brain damage which resulted in severe mental retardation, substantial blindness, and cerebral palsy.
The cause came on to be heard by a jury on October 16, 1989. At the close of the plaintiffs' case, the trial court directed a verdict in favor of Klinger, and thereafter, on October 20, 1989, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Rigsby. Subsequently, judgment was entered upon the verdict entered in the common pleas court and, on December 20, 1989, the plaintiffs filed their notice of appeal to this court.
The plaintiffs have set forth two assignments of error, the first of which has been stated as follows:
"The Trial Court erred to the substantial prejudice of Plaintiffs-Appellants in granting a directed verdict in favor of Defendant-Appellee Dr. Klinger."
According to the evidence, Melodee and Thomas Chupka arrived at Ohio State University Hospital shortly after 8:00 p.m. on the evening of September 20, 1980. When Melodee arrived at the hospital, her blood pressure was elevated, and thereafter, external and internal monitoring revealed that Krista was suffering from fetal distress. Krista was delivered vaginally at approximately 11:23 p.m., with meconium staining which indicated the presence of fetal distress at least six to eight hours before delivery, and tests performed immediately after delivery indicated that Krista was born depressed. The defendant Klinger first saw Krista on the morning of September 22, 1980, at which time his neurological findings indicated that she was very depressed.
Krista now suffers from cerebral palsy which is a result of brain damage, and at the trial, the plaintiffs alleged that the damage occurred during delivery and after Krista was delivered when her blood platelet count was so low that it caused a hemorrhage.
In this regard, the evidence discloses that the results of a blood test taken of Krista a few hours after she was born on September 20, 1980, showed that her blood platelet count was 135,000. On September 27, 1980, a routine blood test indicated that Krista's blood platelet count had dropped to 25,000, and on the same day, Klinger ordered another test which resulted in a count of 7,000. On the following day, at 8:00 a.m., Krista's count was up to 55,000. On September 29, 1980, her count reached 129,000, and on September 30, 1980, her count was 168,000. Klinger testified that he considered a normal count range to be between 100,000 and 300,000, but a laboratory result sheet to which Klinger had access suggested a range of 157,000 to 385,000. According to the testimony, such ranges are established by labs to alert practitioners to potential problems.
In granting the directed verdict to Klinger, the trial court was necessarily bound to follow the restrictive guidelines of Civ. R. 50(A)(4). In other words, the court was required to find, among other things, that reasonable minds could come to but one conclusion upon the evidence. Strother v. Hutchinson (1981), 67 Ohio St.2d 282, 21 O.O.3d 177, 423 N.E.2d 467; Kellerman v. J.S. Durig Co. (1964), 176 Ohio St. 320, 27 O.O.2d 241, 199 N.E.2d 562. Moreover, in such cases, the court may not con
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