Opinion ID: 1820134
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether Dr. Murray Bern was a similarly situated health care provider to Dr. Carraway.

Text: In his complaint, Holcomb alleges that Dr. Carraway is a surgeon, that he had treated Carolyn since the early 1980s, and that under his care she underwent mammograms at least yearly and often more frequently. [3] Holcomb further alleges: 14. Defendant Carraway owed [the Holcombs] a duty to exercise such reasonable care, skill and diligence as surgeons in the medical community ordinarily have and exercise in like cases. 15. Defendant Carraway breached that duty by negligently and/or wantonly: a. failing to detect Mrs. Holcomb's breast cancer; b. failing to perform further tests to detect Mrs. Holcomb's breast cancer; [and] c. failing to advise [the Holcombs] that Mrs. Holcomb should have such tests. (Emphasis added.) Thus, in general, Holcomb alleges that Dr. Carraway acted negligently in failing to diagnose or discover Carolyn's breast cancer. However, more specifically, Dr. Carraway is alleged to have negligently failed to perform a biopsy on Carolyn's breasts at the proper time. A biopsy is a surgical procedure. Therefore, Holcomb's complaint charges Dr. Carraway with failing to perform a necessary surgical procedure on Carolyn in June 1998. Additionally, Holcomb specifically alleges that Dr. Carraway breached the standard of care as it pertains to the exercise of his judgment as a surgeon. Dr. Carraway is certified by the American Board of Surgery as a specialist in general surgery. Dr. Carraway testified that in his treatment of Carolyn Holcomb he was practicing his specialty of general surgery. Based on Holcomb's allegations and on Dr. Carraway's testimony, we conclude that Dr. Carraway was a specialist and that he was engaged in the practice of his specialty of general surgery at the time of the alleged breach of the applicable standard of care. Therefore, § 6-5-548(c), Ala.Code 1975, is applicable to Dr. Carraway. However, Dr. Bern, the expert witness Holcomb proffered against Dr. Carraway, does not meet the requirements of § 6-5-548(c). Dr. Bern is not board-certified in general surgery; he is board-certified in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology. In his practice as an oncologist, Dr. Bern treats patients who have already been identified as having cancer; it is not a normal function of his medical practice to make the initial diagnosis of cancer. [4] Moreover, he performs no breast biopsies in his practice. Finally, Dr. Bern testified that he conducts breast examinations on female patients who are in his office for treatment of a cancer (whether breast cancer or other type of cancer), for treatment of a hematological-related condition (coagulation disorders, bone-marrow diseases, etc.), or for general follow-up care after having received treatment for one of the above-identified problems. However, if as a result of Dr. Bern's examination he wanted a biopsy performed, he would refer the patient to a surgeon or a radiologist trained to perform biopsies. Because Dr. Carraway was practicing in the field of general surgery when the alleged breach occurred, because Holcomb alleges in his complaint that Dr. Carraway breached the standard of care applicable to surgeons, and because Dr. Bern is not a board-certified surgeon, we conclude that Dr. Bern is not a similarly situated health care provider under § 6-5-548(c), Ala. Code 1975. We conclude that, under the AMLA, he was not qualified to offer expert testimony against Dr. Carraway in this case. As to Dr. Carraway, Holcomb offered no other similarly situated health-care provider to testify as to the standard of care and to establish that a breach of that standard of care occurred. Without expert testimony to establish that Dr. Carraway breached the applicable standard of care, Holcomb's case against Dr. Carraway fails as a matter of law. We do not know the basis of the trial court's summary judgment in favor of Dr. Carraway; however, for the reasons stated we affirm the trial court's judgment as to Dr. Carraway.