Hill v. Wilson

760 A.2d 294, 134 Md. App. 472, 2000 Md. App. LEXIS 166
CourtCourt of Special Appeals of Maryland
DecidedOctober 4, 2000
Docket00790, Sept. Term, 1999
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 760 A.2d 294 (Hill v. Wilson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Special Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hill v. Wilson, 760 A.2d 294, 134 Md. App. 472, 2000 Md. App. LEXIS 166 (Md. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinions

MURPHY, Chief Judge.

In the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Kevin Wilson, appellee, filed a medical malpractice action against Dr. Hugh Hill and Emergency Associates, Inc., appellants.1 A jury [476]*476(Hon. Thomas Noel presiding) returned a verdict in favor of appellee, and appellants now present the following questions for our review:

I. Did the trial court err in permitting impeachment testimony by Dr. Hill regarding Dr. Hill’s lectures and writings related to risk management and did the trial court err by denying a new trial on that basis?
II. Did the trial court err by excluding testimony of appellants’ expert witness, Dr. Orlando, regarding appellee’s broken chair, because the trial court erroneously determined that the matter had not been discussed in Dr. Orlando’s deposition, and did the trial court err by denying appellants’ motion for a new trial?
III. Did the trial court err by failing to grant appellants’ motion for summary judgment regarding appellee’s contributory negligence, and did it further err by denying appellants’ motion for judgment, motion for a new trial and judgment notwithstanding the verdict on the issue?
IV. Did the trial court err by giving a jury instruction regarding the patient’s ability to rely on statements by a doctor that were not a complete statement of the law, because it did not state that a patient’s reliance must be reasonable and justified in order for a patient to satisfy his obligation to exercise reasonable care in safeguarding his own health and safety?

For the reasons that follow, we shall answer “no” to each question and affirm the judgment of the circuit court.

Factual Background

Appellee has been paralyzed from the waist down since 1987. On August 30, 1994, he went to the emergency room at Good Samaritan Hospital, complaining of nausea, cloudy urine, and an ulcer on his lower back. Dr. Hill was his emergency room physician. According to appellee, Dr. Hill did not [477]*477inquire about the duration or history of the ulcer, did not “manually palpate or otherwise touch the ulcer,” and made an incorrect diagnosis on the basis of an inadequate examination. Appellee testified that Dr. Hill merely lifted the bandage that appellee had placed on the ulcer at home, glanced at the sore and placed the bandage back on, commenting to appellee that the ulcer was “not your problem.”

Dr. Hill had no independent recollection of appellee’s visit, and his testimony was based on the notes he wrote on appellee’s chart at that time. According to Dr. Hill, his examination revealed that appellee had a “large sacral ulcer without surrounding erythema,” and he diagnosed appellee as suffering from a urinary tract infection. He prescribed antibiotics to last 10 days, and instructed appellee to (1) make an appointment with a plastic surgeon “when available” for treatment of the ulcer, (2) obtain a reculture of the urine in two weeks, and (3) “see your doctor if worse.” Even though appellee’s record contained no express reference to what kind of examination was performed, Dr. Hill testified that he performed a complete evaluation of appellee because his standard practice is to perform such an evaluation.

Appellee testified that he followed Dr. Hill’s advice. When he got home, he made an appointment with a plastic surgeon, Dr. Orlando, whose first available appointment was two weeks away. He also took the prescribed medicine and cleaned and dressed the ulcer every day. Approximately a week after his emergency room visit,2 appellee noticed that an unusual odor was coming from the ulcer.3 He returned to the hospital on September 14,1994.

[478]*478Upon his arrival, appellee was diagnosed as suffering from a severe infection,4 and was then admitted. Due to complications from the infection, above the knee amputations had to be performed on both of appellee’s legs.

Discussion

I. Impeachment of Dr. Hill

Appellants assert that Judge Noel erred in allowing appellee’s counsel to cross-examine Dr. Hill about certain of his writings and lectures.5 Dr. Hill is the author of a chapter, in a risk management manual for doctors, and has also lectured on how emergency room medical charts should be prepared and documented from a “risk management or a legal perspective.” Appellants filed a Motion in Limine to prohibit the admission of these materials, asserting that the materials were (1) not relevant, and (2) prejudicial to appellants’ case. Judge Noel concluded that the materials would be admissible for impeachment purposes, and perhaps on the issue of appellee’s contributory negligence, but could not to be used to prove that Dr. Hill breached the standard of care in his treatment of appellee.

During Dr. Hill’s cross-examination, several bench conferences took place, the first occurring when Dr. Hill was being cross-examined with respect to his medical credentials. Judge Noel concluded that (1) he was going to deal with the issues raised by the materials on a question to question basis, and (2) appellee’s counsel could inquire about the contents of the [479]*479writings. Appellee’s counsel could not, however, use the writings to establish the requisite standard of care, and could not inform the jury that the writings were primarily directed at the goal of avoiding lawsuits.

Counsel for appellee also used the materials to question Dr. Hill on the issue of contributory negligence.6 In the materials, Dr. Hill had commented that directions to the patient to see your physician for follow-up “as necessary” or “as worse” were insufficient because of a lack of understanding by the patient as to the specific time frame. Because of the notes that Dr. Hill made in appellee’s chart, Judge Noel allowed Dr. Hill to be questioned on the apparent inconsistency between what he had documented and what he had advised others to document. Judge Noel explained:

I cannot let this jury not hear this examination. I think it would be patently unfair to just say that it was written based upon a theory of risk management; therefore, the jury should not hear it. If for no other bottom line reason is that it would demonstrate the defendant’s knowledge in this area alone. And on that basis alone, I think it becomes admissible ... Also, when someone writes something in an area, I think it only fair that they be held accountable to what they write. Now, if [counsel for appellants] wants to have this jury advised of the purpose of the writing, its intent, the fact that it was written for risk management, and have your client or witness explain it, you can do so. If you prefer the jury not hear anything about the distinction between risk management and standard of care, then I can advise counsel not to delve into that area. But I don’t see that once someone writes something that they can say, ‘Well, I am not going to have a trier of fact be privy to my writings because I wrote it with a different intent in my mind.’ It is the doctor’s owm writing, and I [480]*480think it only appropriate that he be permitted to be cross-examined on what he has written.

(Emphasis added).

We agree with that analysis.

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Hill v. Wilson
760 A.2d 294 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
760 A.2d 294, 134 Md. App. 472, 2000 Md. App. LEXIS 166, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hill-v-wilson-mdctspecapp-2000.