Opinion ID: 2440950
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Remarks During Opening Statement

Text: For his next two points for reversal, Appellant argues that the trial court erred in refusing to grant a new trial due to Appellee's counsel's remarks made during opening statement involving an alleged misstatement of law and counsel's use of a chart, which listed possible causes of the decedent's death. The alleged misstatement of law involved Appellee's counsel's remarks regarding the nurses' use of their professional medical judgment in caring for patients. Appellant argues that the use of such language improperly apprised the jury of the wrong standard of care in this case. The record reflects that Appellee's counsel stated: [N]ursing is not an exact science. There are a lot of unknowns about what happens to a human body during and after surgery. And the medicinal trial in this case is that of several different people, human beings, nurses, who were exercising their professional medical judgment in taking care of a patient after surgery. When Appellant objected below, the trial court sustained the objection. In response to the trial court's inquiry as to what relief he was seeking, Appellant indicated that he was asking that Appellee not be permitted to make reference to the defense in any way utilizing nurse's judgment. The trial court instructed Appellee's counsel to refrain from using that term and stated that it would instruct the jury as to the relevant law at the appropriate time. Additionally, the trial court offered to give the jury a cautionary instruction on the issue, but Appellant declined the offer. Appellant now argues that the remarks by defense counsel constituted reversible error. We disagree. Given the context in which the term was used, we are not persuaded that such remarks amounted to an improper instruction as to the relevant standard of care. Appellant has failed to demonstrate how counsel's remarks prejudiced him, other than the bare allegation that the remarks constituted reversible error. Furthermore, Appellant is entitled to no relief on appeal because he was the prevailing party on this issue in the trial court and because he received all the relief he requested. Kelley v. Medlin, 309 Ark. 146, 827 S.W.2d 655 (1992). Appellant refused the trial court's offer of a cautionary instruction to the jury, thus he should not now be heard to complain on appeal. Appellant next contends that it was reversible error for Appellee's counsel to use a chart during opening statement to describe how Appellee's experts would testify regarding possible causes of the decedent's death. Appellant objected below to the fact that the chart referred to causes of death, as it implied to the jury that Appellee's expert witnesses would testify to the exact cause of death. Appellant subsequently moved for a mistrial, arguing that defense counsel's use of the chart violated the trial court's previous ruling on Appellant's motion in limine. The trial court denied the motion. We find no merit to this argument. Contrary to Appellant's assertion, the trial court's ruling did not prohibit Appellee's experts from testifying as to the possible causes of death; instead, the trial court merely ruled that Appellee's experts would not be able to testify differently than they had in their depositions. Notwithstanding its previous ruling, the trial court instructed Appellee's counsel to clarify to the jury that the causes of death that were listed on the chart were only possible causes of death. The chart itself was not admitted into evidence for the jury to consider; rather, it was used for demonstrative purposes only. Thus, under those circumstances, we can hardly conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in denying Appellant's motion for a new trial on this issue.