Unanswered Questions in Case Involving Risks, Complications of Surgery
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Debra Todd wrote the majority opinion in Mitchell v. Shikora, decided June 18. The court indicated that it was following its prior decision in Brady v. Urbas, 111 A.3d 1155 (Pa. 2015), and found that evidence of the risks and complications of a surgery “may be” admissible at trial.
July 18, 2019 at 12:36 PM
8 minute read
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Debra Todd wrote the majority opinion in Mitchell v. Shikora, decided June 18. The court indicated that it was following its prior decision in Brady v. Urbas, 111 A.3d 1155 (Pa. 2015), and found that evidence of the risks and complications of a surgery “may be” admissible at trial. Note the emphasis on the words “may be.” The Pennsylvania Superior Court was reversed and the trial court opinion reinstated.
Dr. Evan Shikora was performing a laparoscopic hysterectomy on Lynette Mitchell when he severely cut her bowel. The doctor's defense was that in performing a laparoscopic hysterectomy, the first cut is “blind.”
The opinion, permitting evidence of the risks and complications of a surgery, seems to be grounded on the Pennsylvania Standard Jury Instruction 14.10 Subcommittee Note that: “In the absence of a special contract, a physician is neither a warrantor of a cure, nor a guarantor of the result of his treatment.” That observation by the committee appeared to serve as the basis for the logical underpinning in Mitchell v. Shikora.
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