Opinion ID: 2084684
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Jury Instruction Relating to Interns and Residents at Roger Williams

Text: Before the jury began its deliberation, plaintiffs requested a jury instruction based on the negligence of interns and residents at Roger Williams. In plaintiffs' complaint, they had alleged that Roger Williams, by and though its agents and employees, was negligent in its diagnosis, treatment, and care of Gianquitti. In line with this theory of negligence, plaintiffs submitted the following proposed instruction: You are instructed as a matter of law that on December 23, 2000 physicians who are interns and residents under the circumstances attendant to Mr. Gianquitti's condition had a duty, if as a matter of fact you find that the interns and residents observed Mr. Gianquitti's priapism, to report that condition to Mr. Gianquitti's attending physician or other medical and/or supervisory staff. If you find that interns or residents at Roger Williams Medical Center examined Plaintiff Kenneth J. Gianquitti on December 23, 2000 and failed to report his condition to a physician who was competent to evaluate and treat the Plaintiff, and the proper diagnosis and treatment would have prevented the injuries suffered by Mr. Gianquitti either in whole or in part, then you must find that these individuals' negligence was a proximate cause of those injuries which could have been prevented, and you must find that Defendant Roger Williams Medical Center was negligent. During the trial, plaintiffs' counsel had sought to question Dr. Schneider on the standard of care applicable to interns and residents under the circumstances presented in the case. The trial justice ruled that Dr. Schneider could not testify about the interns and residents because the pretrial depositions had been exhaustive and none of the experts had criticized the acts or omissions of any intern or resident. At that point, plaintiffs' counsel asked the trial justice whether she would be amenable to charge the jury with regard to the interns and residents based on the evidence submitted at trial, but the trial justice reserved her decision on whether or not to so charge the jury. After closing arguments, plaintiffs' counsel objected to the court's refusal to give an instruction on the interns and residents. He argued that the jury should have been instructed that if the residents or interns observed plaintiff's condition, then a duty attached. He asserted that there was uncontradicted testimony that the nurses had a duty to report the priapism, and that therefore, residents and interns, because they are physicians, could not be held to a lesser duty than nurses to report the condition. The trial justice, however, was not swayed. When she delivered the charge, she instructed the jury on the standard of care for physicians and nurses, but she did not impart the requested instruction about interns and residents. [9]