MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) – The Supreme Court of Alabama has affirmed a trial court's ruling in a medical malpractice case against an internist regarding the admission of expert testimony.
On Oct. 26, the Supreme Court affirmed the Calhoun Circuit Court's decision that an expert witness in the medical malpractice case filed by Sue Shadrick, as the representative of the estate of William Harold Shadrick, against Dr. Wilfredo Grana was not sufficient.
"Shadrick was required to support her claims against Dr. Grana with the expert testimony of a similarly situated health-care provider. The trial court did not err in determining that Dr. James Bower does not qualify as such," the court wrote.
Shadricks' estate attempted to submit expert testimony from Bower. The trial court, however, "refused to allow Shadrick's expert witness, Dr. Bower, to testify that Dr. Grana's alleged acts and omissions fell below the applicable standard of care," according to the ruling.
Grana argued that Bower "is not a similarly situated health-care provider in relation to Dr. Grana because Dr. Bower is a board-certified cardiologist, not a board-certified internist or a hospitalist as is Dr. Grana," the ruling states.
The ruling states William Harold Shadrick came to the emergency room at Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center on Oct. 29, 2010, complaining that he had been experiencing shortness of breath and chest pain. An emergency-room physician, Dr. Gary Moore, concluded that William had suffered a heart attack.
"According to Dr. Grana's deposition testimony, when William was admitted to the hospital, his blood pressure was low, his troponin levels were elevated, his heart rate was elevated, he had fluid in his lungs, and he had 'crackles in the bases' of his lungs," the ruling states.
The ruling states that during the trial, Grana testified that he believed an emergency heart catheterization was necessary. However, as an internist, he could not perform the procedure and consulted with a specialist. Shadrick allegedly was never given that procedure and, according to the ruling, later died from insufficient oxygen to his brain.
Shadrick's estate sued the physicians involved in the case. Sue Shadrick settled her claims against another doctor and Grana filed a motion for a summary judgment.
Dr. Grana argued that his care of Shadrick "met or exceeded the applicable standard of care," the ruling states.