On May 21, 2004, Pauline Harris brought this medical malpractice action against Newnan Hospital; Dr. Stanley W. Smith, M.D.; Smith’s practice group, the PAPP Clinic “the Clinic”; the home-care provider Healthfield, Inc.; and others collectively, “the defendants”, alleging that Dr. Smith’s negligent administration of the antibiotic Gentamicin in May and June 2002 resulted in injuries including renal damage and inner ear damage. At the close of Harris’s evidence at trial, the defendants moved for a directed verdict on the basis of the statute of limitation OCGA § 9-3-71 a. The trial court denied the motion. The jury later awarded Harris $586,181 against Smith, the Clinic, and Healthfield, and the trial court entered judgment on the verdict. After Healthfield settled the case, the trial court denied Smith’s and the Clinic’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for new trial. On appeal, Smith and the Clinic renew their argument that Harris’s claim is time-barred. They also assert that the trial court erred when it admitted evidence concerning prior acts of alleged negligence occurring more than two years before Smith filed suit and when it permitted a pharmacist, Michael Katz, to testify concerning the negligence of Dr. Smith, a medical doctor and internist. We conclude that by May 15, 2002, Harris suffered renal damage and other symptoms as a result of Smith’s treatment of her. Because Harris did not bring her claim until more than two years after that injury, her claim is time-barred, and the trial court’s denial of the defendants’ motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict must be reversed.
A trial court may grant a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict only when “there was no conflict in the evidence as to any material issue and the evidence introduced, with all reasonable deductions therefrom, demanded the verdict sought.” Harrouk v. Fierman , 291 Ga. App. 818, 820 1 662 SE2d 892 2008.
