Court Reviews Issues Involving Physician Interviews in a Medical Malpractice Case

VICKI P. JACOBS, SURVIVING SPOUSE OF HARRIS N. JACOBS, DECEASED; AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF HERSELF AND THE MINOR CHILDREN OF HARRIS N. JACOBS, DECEASED v. NASHVILLE EAR, NOSE & THROAT CLINIC ET AL. (Tenn. Ct. App. July 27, 2010)

This is a medical malpractice case. Vicki P. Jacobs ("the Plaintiff") alleges that the failure of Stephen A. Mitchell, M.D., an otolaryngologist, and K. James Schumacher, M.D., a neuroradiologist, to diagnose cancer in the left sinus of her late husband, Harris N. Jacobs ("the Decedent"), in May 2000 caused his death in November 2001.

The trial court granted all defendants summary judgment. The court held that the Plaintiff, in the face of the defendants' motions for summary judgment, failed to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact as to the element of causation. The court's ruling was premised, in part, on the court's holding that the affidavit of one of the experts was not timely filed and also because, according to the court, the Plaintiff's experts gave deposition testimony that superseded and canceled out their assertions in affidavits. Plaintiff appeals, challenging the court's grant of summary judgment and an earlier order allowing the defendants to conduct ex parte interviews of treating physicians of the Decedent. We vacate both orders and remand for further proceedings.

Opinion may be found at:
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2010/jacobsv_CORR_072710.pdf