Parker v. Central Kansas Medical Center

178 F. Supp. 2d 1205, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21387, 2001 WL 1665352
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedOctober 11, 2001
DocketCIV.A. 00-2328-CM
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 178 F. Supp. 2d 1205 (Parker v. Central Kansas Medical Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parker v. Central Kansas Medical Center, 178 F. Supp. 2d 1205, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21387, 2001 WL 1665352 (D. Kan. 2001).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

MURGUIA, District Judge.

Plaintiff in this case has sued defendant Central Kansas Medical Center (CKMC) pursuant to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd. Plaintiff also asserts a claim of medical malpractice against both defendants CKMC and William Slater, M.D. The case has proceeded through discovery, and deadlines for disclosure of expert witnesses by all parties have passed. This matter is before the court on defendants CKMC and Dr. Slater’s motions to strike the affidavit and expert opinions of Merle Fieser, M.D. (Docs. 73 & 74); plaintiffs motion for extension of time to respond to CKMC’s motion to strike affidavit and expert opinions of Merle Fisher, M.D., and to reopen discovery and continue trial (Doc. 80); plaintiffs motion for extension of time to respond to Dr. Slater’s motion to strike affidavit and expert opinions of Merle Fisher, M.D., and to reopen discovery and continue trial (Doc. 83); and defendant CKMC’s request for oral argument (Doc. 86). The motions at issue will be disposed of pursuant to this order and, therefore, the court denies CKMC’s request for oral argument.

I. Factual Background

On August 24, 1998, plaintiff was admitted to CKMC for treatment of injuries she sustained during a horseback riding incident earlier that evening. Plaintiff was initially treated at the hospital by her family physician, Merle Fieser, M.D. Apparently, Dr. Fieser contacted defendant Slater, a general surgeon, about seeing plaintiff. For reasons immaterial to the motions at issue, Dr. Slater first agreed, then later declined, to see plaintiff. Plaintiff then was transported to Hutchinson Hospital where she underwent two surgeries.

The scheduling order in this case, as modified by the court, established April 20, 2001 as the deadline for plaintiffs expert disclosures pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2). The scheduling order further provided discovery to be completed by June 15, 2001. On April 20, 2001, plaintiff submitted her expert witness disclosures, in which she designated William A. Lybarger, Ph. D. as her only expert.

On May 25, 2001, plaintiff submitted her final witness and exhibit list, in which she *1209 designated Dr. Fieser as a witness. Dr. Fieser, one of plaintiffs treating physicians, previously had been deposed on March 7, 2001, and although not a party to the litigation, Dr. Fieser was represented at the deposition by her attorney, Brian Wright. At that deposition, Dr. Fieser testified that she believed plaintiff had achieved a stable condition and could be transferred from CKMC to another hospital to undergo surgery. Dr. Fieser further testified that the option of transfer was equally as good as having surgery at CKMC and that she had no concerns that there would be a problem in transferring plaintiff.

Defendants filed motions for summary judgment. Attached to plaintiffs responses was an affidavit of Dr. Fieser dated July 24, 2001. The affidavit consisted of twenty-four enumerated paragraphs, including the following:

20. It was my professional opinion that Mrs. Parker needed immediate emergency medical attention. The Emergency Room was only three floors down with an accessible elevator and I would have happily accommodate (sic) whatever Dr. Slater needed to provide care to Mrs. Parker.
22. Mrs. Parker had no other choice than to transfer to Hutchinson Hospital because she was not receiving any care from Central Kansas Medical Center and Dr. Slater left the hospital with out providing any care or examination to Mrs. Parker.
23. Dr. Slater’s refusal to see or even examine Mrs. Parker fell below the standard of care for our community.
24. It is also my professional belief that the delay in treatment lead to Mrs. Parker’s medical complications immediately following her accident and the complications that she continues to have on an ongoing basis.

After receipt of Dr. Fieser’s affidavit, defendant CKMC asserts that its counsel contacted Dr. Fieser’s counsel, Mr. Wright. Defendant CKMC contends that Mr. Wright stated that he was not aware that Dr. Fieser had executed an affidavit at plaintiffs request. Through Mr. Wright, Dr. Fieser subsequently provided another affidavit. In her second affidavit, Dr. Fieser stated that she did not prepare the first affidavit and that it was not her intent in signing the first affidavit to contradict or change any of her deposition testimony. Dr. Fieser also stated that, to the extent the first affidavit indicates that plaintiff did not receive medical care at CKMC, the affidavit is incorrect. Dr. Fieser stated that both she and the nursing staff at CKMC provided care and treatment to plaintiff. Significantly, Dr. Fieser also disavowed any opinions regarding whether or not plaintiffs transfer caused or contributed to any of plaintiffs injuries or complications. Dr. Fieser stated that she has not reviewed any records related to the transfer or the records of the care plaintiff received at Hutchinson Hospital and could not, therefore, form an opinion regarding the cause of her current condition or complications which occurred following the transfer.

Plaintiff contends that defendant CKMC’s counsel’s contact with Mr. Wright may support a claim of witness intimidation and spoilation of evidence by defendant CKMC. Plaintiff claims that counsel for CKMC informed Mr. Wright that defendant CKMC had been involved in previous litigation against Dr. Fieser. For support, plaintiff cites to a letter written by Mr. Wright to plaintiffs counsel. Plaintiff believes that this threat of prior litigation, along with the fact that defendant CKMC could revoke Dr. Fieser’s hospital privileges, was used to coerce Dr. Fieser’s second affidavit.

*1210 II. Discussion

Rule 26(a)(2) requires each party to disclose the identity of its expert witnesses and produce an expert report for each expert witness. In this case, the time for expert disclosures was set by the court. Plaintiff did not disclose Dr. Fieser as an expert witness. Therefore, as plaintiffs treating physician, Dr. Fieser may not provide expert testimony but is, rather, limited to providing testimony in accordance with Federal Rule of Evidence 701. This means Dr. Fieser may provide testimony regarding her observations based solely on her personal knowledge, but may not provide testimony beyond the scope of her treatment of plaintiff. Davoll v. Webb, 194 F.3d 1116, 1138-39 (10th Cir.1999). Any conclusions drawn by Dr. Fieser must fall within the province of a lay witness who has personal knowledge of the situation. United States v. Anthony, 944 F.2d 780, 782-83 (10th Cir.1991).

Paragraphs 22, 23, and 24 of Dr. Fieser’s first affidavit espouse opinions which are clearly expert opinions. Dr.

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178 F. Supp. 2d 1205, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21387, 2001 WL 1665352, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parker-v-central-kansas-medical-center-ksd-2001.