The Kansas Court of Appeals reinstated a woman's medical malpractice claims against a health care defendant, finding the lower court erred in determining that she needed an expert witness to establish a breach in the standard of care when a surgeon allegedly removed the wrong organ.

In a July 28 majority opinion, authored by Judge Amy F. Cline, the Kansas Court of Appeals determined a district court improperly granted summary judgment to Dr. Nason Lui, who performed surgery on Jeannine Williams-Davidson at Stormont-Vail Healthcare Inc. Williams-Davidson was supposed to have her left adrenal gland removed; however, the surgeon allegedly misidentified her pancreas as her adrenal gland and removed a portion of her pancreas instead.