Opinion ID: 1179315
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Interpretation of Dr. Ormsby's Testimony

Text: A threshold question is whether any consideration is to be given to Dr. Ormsby's testimony on the issue of the standard of care that should have been exercised by Dr. Burress. The Court of Appeals concluded that his testimony contained nothing as to the standard of care or departure from that standard. The most that can be said about the testimony is that it presents an equal choice of two mere possibilities. We disagree. If we do not adhere to the strict locality rule, Dr. Ormsby's testimony as to the standard of care of doctors in Washington is also evidence of the standard of care owed by doctors in Albuquerque. He testified that the standards he is familiar with are the same as those used by doctors practicing under similar circumstances in Albuquerque. The standard is that doctors, in extracting such tubes, do not pull so hard as to cause the balloon to break (absent some defect). Dr. Ormsby states that breakage is not a normal occurrence and that if it occurred and the tube was not defective, then the doctor vigorously pulling it out was not following acceptable medical practice. The defendants point out that, in his deposition, Dr. Ormsby equivocated on the questions bearing on wrongdoing by Dr. Burress and whether he was in violation of reasonable standards of care. However, when he was asked his opinion as to the cause of Goffe's heart attack he stated ... it was caused by, in my opinion, two events. The rupture of a balloon containing mercury with inhalation into the lungs, and the subsequent unnatural, unphysiologic, perhaps well-meant or well-intended efforts to remove it. This court cannot erase the record; and after examining his testimony in its entirety and considering the test elucidated in Goodman v. Brock, supra, we hold that the evidence was sufficient to create a reasonable doubt as to the existence of a genuine issue, which precludes summary judgment.