Opinion ID: 1669438
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Did the trial court err in refusing defendants' jury instructions, D-12 and D-20?

Text: ¶ 17. The standard of review for jury instructions is as follows: [T]he instructions are to be read together as a whole, with no one instruction to be read alone or taken out of context. A defendant is entitled to have jury instructions given which present his theory of the case. However, the trial judge may also properly refuse the instructions if he finds them to incorrectly state the law or to repeat a theory fairly covered in another instruction or to be without proper foundation in the evidence of the case. Thomas v. State, 818 So.2d 335, 349 (Miss.2002). See also Haggerty v. Foster, 838 So.2d 948, 953 (Miss.2002). ¶ 18. Dr. Blake and JBJC argue that it was error to refuse the defendants' jury instructions Nos. D-12 and D-20. D-12 provided: The court instructs the jury that to recover in this case for lack of informed consent, the plaintiff must prove a causal connection between information allegedly not provided by Dr. Blake and the injuries to the plaintiff, if any. The existence of a causal connection is determined by whether a reasonably prudent patient, fully advised of the material known risks, would have consented to a multiple metatarsal osteotomy. Therefore, even should you find by a preponderance of the evidence that Dr. Blake failed to disclose materially known risks about the procedure to Mr. Clein, you should nevertheless return a verdict in favor of Dr. Blake and Jackson Bone and Joint Clinic as to the informed consent claim, if you find that a reasonably prudent patient in Mr. Clein's situation would have consented to a multiple metatarsal osteotomy after being fully advised of the material known risks of that surgery. D-20 provided: The Court instructs the jury that in order to recover in this case, the plaintiff must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Dr. Blake's surgery was the proximate cause of his alleged worsened condition and damages, if any. That is, the plaintiff must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the complaints he allegedly had which allegedly necessitated an amputation were the result of Dr. Blake's surgery and not simply a continuation of his original motorcycle injury, or some other illness or condition. Therefore, even should you find by a preponderance of the evidence that Dr. Blake failed to disclose all of the known material risks of the surgery to Mr. Clein and/or was negligent in performing that surgery, you should nevertheless return a verdict in favor of Dr. Blake and the Jackson Bone and Joint Clinic if you find that plaintiff has failed to show that the complaints he allegedly had which allegedly necessitated an amputation were the result of Dr. Blake's surgery and not simply a continuation of his original motorcycle injury or the product of some other condition. ¶ 19. This Court finds that D-12 and D-20 should have been submitted to the jury. Each presented separate theories of the defendants' case, were not repetitive, correctly stated the law, and had a proper foundation based on the evidence presented. The trial judge eviscerated the defense of Dr. Blake and JBJC by denying the defendants' theory instructions, D-12 and D-20, which compromised the defendants' right to a fair and impartial trial.