Univ. of Miss. Med. Ctr v. Foster


<- Return to Search Results


Docket Number: 2010-CA-00791-COA
Linked Case(s): 2010-CA-00791-COA ; 2010-CT-00791-SCT ; 2010-CT-00791-SCT

Supreme Court: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 02-14-2013

Court of Appeals: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 12-13-2011
Opinion Author: Ishee, J.
Holding: Reversed and rendered

Additional Case Information: Topic: Wrongful death - Autopsy report - Expert witnesses
Judge(s) Concurring: Griffis, P.J., Barnes, Roberts, Carlton and Maxwell, JJ.
Non Participating Judge(s): Lee, C.J., and Myers, J.
Dissenting Author : Russell, J.
Dissent Joined By : Irving, P.J.
Procedural History: Bench Trial
Nature of the Case: CIVIL - WRONGFUL DEATH
Writ of Certiorari: yes
Appealed from Court of Appeals

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 01-04-2010
Appealed from: Hinds County Circuit Court
Judge: Tomie Green
Disposition: FOLLOWING A BENCH TRIAL, THE CIRCUIT COURT DETERMINED THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER BREACHED THE STANDARD OF CARE AND ENTERED A JUDGMENT AGAINST IT IN THE AMOUNT OF $500,000
Case Number: 251-07-142CIV

Note: The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals on 2/14/2013. The SCT opinion can be viewed at http://courts.ms.gov/Images/Opinions/CO81609.pdf

  Party Name: Attorney Name:   Brief(s) Available:
Appellant: University of Mississippi Medical Center




WALTER T. JOHNSON ROBERT H. PEDERSEN JOSEPH G. BALADI



 
  • Appellant #1 Brief
  • Appellant #1 Reply Brief

  • Appellee: Donnie Foster and Shirley Foster as Legal Guardians of the Minor Child, Malik R. Caldwell and on Behalf of the Wrongful Death Beneficiaries of Tamika Foster DAVID C. DUNBAR  

    Synopsis provided by:

    If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals
    hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office.

    Topic: Wrongful death - Autopsy report - Expert witnesses

    Summary of the Facts: In 2005, Tamika Foster was treated at the University of Mississippi Medical Center on several occasions for various abnormal symptoms she was experiencing during her pregnancy. On August 18, 2005, Foster was diagnosed with Class I hemolysis, elevated liver enzyme levels, and low-platelet-count syndrome. Thereafter, Foster gave birth at UMMC and later admitted to the intensive care unit with continuing symptoms of pain, nausea, and vomiting. On August 20, 2005, Foster went into respiratory arrest and died. The autopsy included a test for thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura (TTP). On November 30, 2005, the autopsy report was finalized; the report stated the cause of death was myocardial ischemia with arrhythmia secondary to TTP. However, Foster’s death certificate stated that she died of HELLP. Foster’s parents later filed suit in the Hinds County Circuit Court against UMMC on behalf of Foster’s minor child, Malik R. Caldwell, claiming UMMC was negligent in failing to diagnose and treat Foster for TTP and that the negligence was a proximate contributing cause of Foster’s wrongful death. The circuit court concluded that based on the autopsy report, UMMC had breached the standard of care by negligently failing to diagnose and treat Foster for TTP and that the TTP was a contributing cause of Foster’s wrongful death. The circuit court then entered a judgment against UMMC in the amount of $500,000. UMMC appeals.

    Summary of Opinion Analysis: Issue 1: Autopsy report It is clear from the record that the judge primarily based her ruling on Foster’s autopsy report. The autopsy report is the only physical evidence asserting that Foster died of TTP. Her diagnosis at the hospital and the cause of death listed on her death certificate both reflect that Foster contracted and died of HELLP. As such, the pivotal question of the case was whether or not Foster had TTP. If Foster did not have TTP, but instead had HELLP, then UMMC would not have been charged with breaching the standard of care in treating Foster. There is no testimony directly linking Foster to having had TTP. Two experts testified that Foster had HELLP and that she was properly treated for HELLP. Foster’s parents’ expert in obstetrics and gynecology could not expressly state that Foster had TTP. Thus, there was no expert testimony which supported to a reasonable degree of medical certainty the notion that Foster had TTP. Only the autopsy report concretely linked Foster with having had TTP. The circuit court erred in relying on the autopsy report. Issue 2: Expert witnesses The circuit judge acknowledged that UMMC challenged the methods and tests used in the autopsy report. However, the circuit judge could not have understood the full extent of UMMC’s concerns because she refused to allow UMMC’s expert and treating physician to testify regarding their opposition to the use of postmortem blood in ADAMTS13 tests. The circuit court only stated that the experts UMMC presented for testimony were not qualified to comment on the ADAMTS13 test because they were not pathologists. However, both expert witnesses testified regarding their extensive knowledge of TTP and HELLP as well as the applicable tests for HELLP and TTP. A witness need not be a specialist in any particular profession to testify as an expert. Rather, the scope of the expert witness’s knowledge and experience, and not any artificial classification, governs the question of admissibility. Here, both doctors testified that they had studied, researched, published, and treated both conditions for decades, during which time they had become expertly knowledgeable with the ADAMTS13 test since the use of the test indicated the presence of TTP. Thus, the circuit court’s refusal to allow UMMC’s experts to testify regarding the autopsy report’s finding of TTP is reversible error.


    Home | Terms of Use | About the JDP | Feedback | Using JDP | MC Law Library | Mississippi Supreme Court