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Guoth v. Hamilton5/25/2005
BLACKBURN, P. J., MILLER and BERNES, JJ.
In this medical malpractice action, Dr. Janos Guoth appeals a jury verdict awarding plaintiff Teresa Hamilton damages arising out of Dr. Guoth's allegedly injuring her urethra when he prepared her for the caesarean-section delivery of her child. Among other things, Dr. Guoth argues that the court erred in refusing to disqualify a juror for cause who (a) knew Dr. Guoth from working at the same hospital with him, (b) believed Dr. Guoth was an incompetent physician, and (c) had heard from other hospital employees that Dr. Guoth had acted negligently in injuring Hamilton. We hold that the repeated questioning of this admittedly-biased juror that eventually resulted in her saying she would be impartial did not rehabilitate her, and that therefore the court erred in not disqualifying her for cause. Accordingly, we reverse.
The evidence showed that Dr. Guoth inserted a catheter into Hamilton while preparing her for the caesarean-section delivery of her child. He later discovered a tear in the urethra, which required Hamilton to undergo repair surgery and to suffer pain and incontinence. Hamilton sued Dr. Guoth for malpractice, attaching an affidavit from a physician that Dr. Guoth acted negligently in the insertion of the catheter.
During general voir dire, a juror stated that she knew Dr. Guoth from working with him at the hospital where the incident occurred. When the general panel was asked whether anyone knew anything about the allegations of this case, this same juror responded that she had heard other hospital employees talk of the incident in question. Before being questioned individually, the juror responded to another general question (asking if all the potential jurors could act fairly and justly) by stating: "I don't know that I could be impartial forget what I've heard."
When she was questioned individually, she stated that her co-workers in the lab at the hospital where she worked had told her: "Dr. Guoth had delivered the baby and had messed her up. Somebody messed her urethra up. I didn't hear actually what he did to her, just that he messed her up, and I think she ended up having to go to another doctor." Regarding other medical work of Dr. Guoth, she had heard "some bad things. Yes, I've heard some bad things." One bad thing was "his unsterile technique." She had heard that "there was a patient in the emergency room, and he started examining her, and he rammed his hand up in her, and he hadn't washed his hands, put gloves on or anything." As a result, she conceded, "I don't have a very high opinion [of him] - I wouldn't go to him, and I wouldn't want any of my family to go to him."
When asked now for a second time if she could be fair and impartial on this case, she stated: "I could try and have a blank slate and forget about what I've heard and listen to the evidence and go on that. . . . I could - I could try." Dissatisfied, the court pressed her, asking if she could indeed do it, not just try. She responded: "I can listen to the evidence from the case, because I don't know." Seeking to commit her to a stronger position, plaintiff's attorney asked if she could set aside what she had heard and felt and apply the law to the evidence fairly and impartially, to which she stated: "Yes, I think I could." But she then conceded that she came to the case with an understanding that Dr. Guoth may have done something wrong in this particular delivery.
The court tried again to rehabilitate her, asking her whether she was so biased or prejudiced that she could not make a fair and impartial decision. She stated that she thought she could be fair. The court pressed her further, asking the leading que
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