Toombs v. Acute Care Consultants Inc.

Jacqueline Toombs brought the instant medical malpractice action against Dr. Bruce Friedman, nurse practitioner Gena Markwalter and Acute Care Consultants, Inc. collectively the “Defendants”, alleging that they were negligent in providing medical care following her late husband’s surgery and that this negligence led to his death.1 The Defendants moved for summary judgment on the ground that no jury question remained following the disqualification of Toombs’s sole expert witness. The trial court granted the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and Toombs appeals from that order. Toombs contends that her expert met all the criteria of OCGA § 24-7-702 c2 in terms of education, training and experience. After a thorough review of the law and facts in this case, we reverse.

On appeal from the grant of summary judgment this Court conducts a de novo review of the evidence to determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact and whether the undisputed facts, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, warrant judgment as a matter of law.