Van Ness v. ETMC First Physicians
No. 14-0353
Case Summary written by Laura Parton, Staff Member.
Melissa and Ronald Van Ness brought suit against Dr. Kristin Ault and her employer, ETMC First Physicians, claiming that Dr. Ault’s negligence caused the death of their son, Nicholas Van Ness. The petitioners appealed the court of appeals’ dismissal of their case. The trial court denied respondents’ motion to dismiss and the court of appeals reversed, holding that petitioners’ expert report “failed to link the expert’s conclusions to the underlying facts.” The Court reversed and remanded.
“Nicholas was born on November 13, 2009.” Nicholas did not present any symptoms during regular checkups on either November 19th or 30th. During a checkup on December 11th, Nicholas presented with a fever, coughing, and nasal congestion. During that checkup, Melissa Van Ness made Dr. Ault aware that Nicholas had experienced coughing fits that inhibited his breathing to the point that his face would become discolored. On December 15th, as Nicholas’s condition worsened, the Van Nesses again brought their child to see Dr. Ault. At that visit, Dr. Ault failed to “perform or order any tests.” Finally, the Van Nesses brought Nicholas to East Texas Medical Center Hospital on December 20th “where he was treated for acute pneumonia, wheezing, and tachycardia.” Nicholas “was transferred to Children’s Medical Center Hospital . . . where he died on January 20, 2010.”
Dr. Jaffee filed a report as an expert witness for the Van Nesses. According to Dr. Jaffee, treatment of infants should begin within six weeks after they start to cough. Because the day he was taken to East Texas Medical Hospital was within the six weeks guideline, the court of appeals found that earlier treatment would not have improved Nicholas’s condition and, therefore, no causal link existed to show that Dr. Ault’s actions caused Nicholas’s death.
Dr. Jaffee’s report, however, further stated that it was reasonably certain that if Dr. Ault had properly tested, diagnosed, and treated Nicholas he would not have passed away from whopping cough on January 20th. The Court held that this was sufficient to find that the report was a good faith effort and thus, “the court of appeals erred by reversing the trial court’s” denial of respondents’ motion to dismiss.