Opinion ID: 173320
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: District Court's Denial of Summary Judgment to Bender on Willis' Medical Malpractice Claim

Text: The court denied Bender's motion for summary judgment on the medical malpractice claim but not without reservations. It determined the claim was centered entirely on Bender's decision to continue a laparoscopic approach rather than converting to an open procedure after his first and second attempts to gain access to Willis' abdomen were unsuccessful. While Willis provided expert testimony that such conduct fell below the standard of care, she failed to provide any expert testimony that such conduct actually caused the bowel perforation. Although Bender conceded the perforation must have occurred during the laparoscopic cholecystectomy, he did not concede it was the result of any negligence. Moreover, there was evidence that bowel perforation was a known and accepted complication of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Nonetheless, giving Willis the benefit of a generous interpretation of her expert's opinions, the court found her submissions were sufficient to withstand summary judgment. It read those submissions as alleging Bender's negligent decision to continue to proceed laparoscopically after his initial attempts failed unreasonably increased Willis' risk of undetected bowel injury. It warned, however, that Willis' ability to survive a motion for a directed verdict was precariously tied to the presentation of expert testimony establishing her bowel perforation was in fact caused by Bender's negligence.