The loss of a less-than-even chance of survival is a distinct injury compensable as general damages which cannot be calculated with mathematical certainty. The jury should make a subjective determination of the value of that loss, fixing the amount of money that would adequately compensate the survivor for that particular…
In Russo v. Dr. Stephen Kraus, 2010-2463 (La. 1/28/2011), the Louisiana Supreme Court granted a writ and reinstated the judgment of the District Court denying a Sibley v. Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University, 477 So.2d 1094 (La. 1985), hearing, which is a hearing to determine the constitutionality of…
Even if the negligence of a doctor did not cause the patient’s death, because he was likely to have died anyway, damages can still be awarded if the doctor’s negligence caused the patient to lose a less-than-even chance of survival. A loss of a chance of survival in any degree…
There is no presumption that a doctor possesses the required skill and knowledge required of him by the controlling medical standards and that in treating his patients, that he applies that knowledge and skill. Williams v. Golden, 95-2712 (La. App. 4 Cir. 7/23/97), 699 So.2d 102, 106-07, writ denied, 1997-2788…
Where medical disciplines overlap, a specialist in one field may give expert testimony as to the standard of care applicable to areas of the practice of medicine common to both disciplines. Corley v. State, DHH, 32,613 (La.App. 2 Cir. 12/30/99), 749 So.2d 926, 931-32, citing Leyva v. Iberia General Hospital,…
In Sensebe v. Canal Indemnity Company, 2010-0703 (La. 1/28/2011), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that an “automobile business” exclusion in a Farm Bureau insurance policy violates Louisiana’s public policy of requiring insurance coverage as expressed in the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Law, La. R.S.32:851 – 1043. Specifically, the Court…
In a medical negligence claim against a Louisiana doctor practicing in a specific specialty, the plaintiff has the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) the degree of knowledge or skill possessed, or the degree of care ordinarily exercised by physicians licensed to practice and actively practicing…
In Louisiana, “[t]o establish a claim for medical malpractice, a plaintiff must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) the standard of care applicable to the defendant; (2) the defendant breached that standard of care; and (3) there was a causal connection between the breach and the resulting injury.…
A plaintiff in a medical negligence case must present his claim first to a medical review panel of physicians of the same specialty as the defendant physician and licensed to practice in Louisiana. Physicians from other states or from different specialties can not be appointed to a medical review panel.…
On January 6, 2011, Chief Justice Catherine D. “Kitty” Kimball announced that the Louisiana Supreme Court has appointed the following five members to sit on the newly established Committee to Study Plain Civil Jury Instructions: -Committee Chairman: H. Alston Johnson, III, Phelps Dunbar law firm -Judge James E. Stewart, Second…