Linda Pendley, individually and on behalf of the estate of Mark Pendley, her son, brought the instant medical malpractice action against various parties, including Southern Regional Health System, Inc., d/b/a Southern Regional Medical Center “Southern Regional”. Pendley appeals the trial court’s order granting summary judgment to Southern Regional as well as the trial court’s order granting Southern Regional’s motion in limine to exclude expert testimony of Dr. Jonathan Ilowide. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56 c. A de novo standard of review applies to an appeal from a grant of summary judgment, and we view the evidence, and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.1 Furthermore, the burden on the moving party may be discharged by pointing out by reference to the affidavits, depositions and other documents in the record that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s case. If the moving party discharges this burden, the nonmoving party cannot rest on its pleadings, but rather must point to specific evidence giving rise to a triable issue.2 So viewed, the evidence establishes that decedent Mark Pendley arrived at the emergency room of Southern Regional on November 29, 2003, complaining of nausea and abdominal pain. Mark was examined by Dr. William Watkins, who deposed that Mark’s blood sodium level was very low, close to the point at which seizures could occur, and he had exhibited tachycardia and hypotension, but Watkins’s evaluations had not produced a diagnosis for the cause of the symptoms. Watkins also ordered a series of further tests in an attempt to discover the cause of Mark’s abdominal pain, and in the early morning of November 30, Watkins determined that Mark should be admitted to the telemetry floor.
That morning, Dr. Watkins discussed Mark’s case with Dr. Cashmir C. Okoro, and Watkins’s order for admission stated “Admit to telemetry. Diagnosis: Abdominal pain, hypotension, electrolyte imbalance. Attending Dr. Okoro. Condition: Fair. . . . Call Dr. Okoro on arrival of the patient to the floor for further orders.” After Dr. Watkins’s discussion with Dr. Okoro some time after 6:20 a.m. on November 30, an emergency room nurse noted in the Intra-Hospital Transfer section of the emergency room records that Mark’s blood pressure was 79/49; the Transfer section states that it is to be completed including recording various vital signs such as blood pressure of the patient within 30 minutes of a patient’s transfer, which occurred in this case at 8:00 a.m. on November 30. Dr. Okoro deposed that he reviewed these records prior to examining Mark. The nurse’s notes do not indicate whether this blood pressure reading was orally communicated to any physician.
