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Freeman v. LTC Healthcare of Statesboro Inc.

The trial court did not err in declining to consider a nurse's expert opinion testimony as to the causation of the decedent's death shortly after arriving at the defendant's nursing center, since the proximate cause question raised issues outside of the nurse's area of expertise.

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Hospice patient Mary L. Freeman died shortly after arriving at Westwood Nursing Center, a long-term care facility. Her husband, Charles W. Freeman, acting individually and as administrator for her estate collectively, “Freeman”, brought a malpractice action against several defendants including LTC Healthcare of Statesboro, Inc. d/b/a Westwood Nursing Center “Westwood”, the appellee in this case. The trial court granted summary judgment to Westwood on the ground that Freeman had not pointed to evidence that Mrs. Freeman’s death had been caused by the alleged breaches in the standard of care. In so ruling, the trial court declined to consider the expert opinion testimony of a nurse, concluding that she was not competent to opine on causation. We decline to adopt a “bright line” rule that nurses may never testify to causation in medical malpractice cases, but we nevertheless affirm the trial court’s grant of summary judgment because the evidence shows that the nurse’s causation opinion in this case fell outside her realm of expertise.

To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, the moving party must demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56 c; Cowart v. Widener, 287 Ga. 622, 623 1 a 697 SE2d 779 2010.

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