Reeves v. Mahathre

The record failed to establish that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the emergency room physician's treatment of the decedent proximately caused her death.

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In this wrongful-death action premised on medical malpractice, appellants Michael Reeves, Sharon Reeves, and Marcus Reeves, Jr., individually, and Michael Reeves, as executor of the Estate of Jonelle Reeves collectively, “Appellants”, sued Dr. Vijay Mahathre and his employer, Ben Hill Emergency Group LLC collectively, “Dr. Mahathre”,1 inter alia,2 alleging that Dr. Mahathre was negligent in the medical care he provided to their mother, Jonelle Reeves “Reeves”, in the emergency department at Dorminy Medical Center “DMC”. Dr. Mahathre, an emergency-room physician, filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that he did not breach the applicable standard of care when he treated Reeves and, further, that Appellants failed to establish a causal connection between his care of Reeves and her subsequent death. The trial court granted Dr. Mahathre’s motion, and Appellants claim that the court erred in doing so. Because we agree that the appellate record fails to establish that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether Dr. Mahathre’s treatment proximately caused Reeves’s death, we affirm.

Viewed in the light most favorable to Appellants as the nonmovants,3 the record shows that at approximately 6:20 p.m. on May 21, 2008, Reeves, a 71-year-old with a history of diabetes and hypertension, presented at the emergency room in DMC, complaining of nausea and severe pain in her abdomen and right flank. Dr. Mahathre was her attending emergency-room physician. After taking a medical history and conducting a physical examination, Dr. Mahathre ordered a series of tests, including a complete blood count, blood-chemistry analysis, urinalysis, and an upright kidney-ureter-bladder x-ray. He further administered Reeves an intramuscular injection of pain medication and an anti-nausea medicine, and also gave her an oral antibiotic.

Reeves v. Mahathre

The record failed to establish that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the emergency room physician's treatment of the decedent proximately caused her death.

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