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THE JURY WAS PROPERLY INSTRUCTED ON THE RES IPSA LOQUITUR DOCTRINE IN THIS MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACTION (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined the jury was properly instructed on the res ipsa loquitur doctrine in this medical malpractice case. Here plaintiffs presented evidence nerve damage would not have occurred absent negligence. The plaintiff’s verdict was upheld:

We agree with the Supreme Court’s determination to charge the jury with respect to res ipsa loquitur. “Under appropriate circumstances, the evidentiary doctrine of res ipsa loquitur may be invoked to allow the factfinder to infer negligence from the mere happening of an event” … . “‘Where the actual or specific cause of an accident is unknown, under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur a jury may in certain circumstances infer negligence merely from the happening of an event and the defendant’s relation to it'” … . Res ipsa loquitur “‘derives from the understanding that some events ordinarily do not occur in the absence of negligence'” … . “‘In addition to this first prerequisite, plaintiff must establish, second, that the injury was caused by an agent or instrumentality within the exclusive control of defendant and, third, that no act or negligence on the plaintiff’s part contributed to the happening of the event. Once plaintiff satisfies the burden of proof on these three elements, the res ipsa loquitur doctrine permits the jury to infer negligence from the mere fact of the occurrence'” … . “Moreover, expert testimony may be properly used to help the jury ‘bridge the gap’ between its own common knowledge, which does not encompass the specialized knowledge and experience necessary to reach a conclusion that the occurrence would not normally take place in the absence of negligence, and the common knowledge of physicians, which does” … .

Here, the plaintiffs presented expert testimony that, in a first time fundoplication procedure like the plaintiff’s, injury to the vagus nerves should not occur if the surgeon adheres to the accepted standard of care and follows the proper surgical sequence. While the defendants presented evidence that gastroparesis can be idiopathic, “a plaintiff need not conclusively eliminate the possibility of all other causes of the injury to rely on res ipsa loquitur” … . Smith v Sommer, 2020 NY Slip Op 07235, Second Dept 12-2-20

 

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