Opinion ID: 1979794
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Inherent Improbability

Text: The defendant also urges this Court to hold that the trial justice was not required to accept the uncontroverted opinion testimony of Drs. Brock and Moossa because it was inherently improbable. To support this argument, Dr. Latina casts their opinions as creating a necessary implication that both Dr. Latina and the surgeon who assisted him during Franco's gallbladder surgery, Salvatore Azzoli, M.D., were aware that they made a mistake during the procedure but, rather than fix it, completed the procedure and sent Franco on her way despite the inevitability of future complications. The portion of the testimony that Dr. Latina believes gives rise to this assumption is Dr. Moossa's statement that Dr. Latina had to have made two cuts when cutting the common bile duct, even though the procedure calls for one. This testimony, Dr. Latina says, is inherently improbable because if Dr. Latina made two cuts when only one was required, he must have been aware that there was a mistake or problem. In essence, Dr. Latina contends that Dr. Moossa accuses him of actions which are highly unethical, if not criminal. Further, Dr. Latina contends there is inherent improbability in the testimony of Dr. Brock because of internal inconsistencies. Uncontradicted testimony may be rejected if it contains inherent improbabilities. State v. A. Capuano Bros., Inc., 120 R.I. 58, 63-64, 384 A.2d 610, 613 (1978). In Gaudette v. Carter, 100 R.I. 259, 262-63, 214 A.2d 197, 199-200 (1965), we held that a trial justice acted properly when he rejected uncontroverted testimony from witnesses who said they did not overhear slanderous language that was being shouted just slightly more than an arm's length away from them. The testimony presented in this case does not present a situation like that in Gaudette, where common sense dictated that the witnesses' testimony was improbable. See Gaudette, 100 R.I. at 262-63, 214 A.2d at 199-200. Instead, Dr. Latina asks us first to adopt his interpretation of Dr. Moossa's testimony in which he alleges that Dr. Moossa believed that Dr. Latina was aware of the fact that he had made a mistake during Franco's surgery, but chose not to correct it. Doctor Moossa never testified to that effect, nor is that inference reasonable from his testimony. So, even though we are required to draw all reasonable inferences from the evidence in favor of defendant, we are not permitted to follow Dr. Latina to this unreasonable conclusion. With regard to the suggestion that the testimony of Dr. Brock was inherently improbable because of internal inconsistencies, we already have addressed and rejected the pertinent arguments regarding those inconsistencies in Part IV(B)(1) of this opinion. Therefore, we hold that it was proper for the trial justice to accept the uncontroverted expert opinion testimony of Dr. Brock and Dr. Moossa because it was not inherently improbable. After a meticulous review of the trial record, and a thorough examination of the arguments raised by Dr. Latina, we are convinced that the trial justice was correct when she entered judgment as a matter of law for plaintiff. The expert testimony of Dr. Brock and Dr. Moossa was uncontradicted with regard to the applicable standard of care for plaintiff's laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and it was not inherently improbable. Doctor Latina's attempt to proffer an opinion that contradicted that testimony by inserting an ungrounded, subjective element into the standard of care does not raise a legally sufficient question about the applicable standard of care to be submitted to a jury. We therefore hold that judgment as a matter of law in favor of Franco was warranted.