Opinion ID: 1058945
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Summary Judgment for Defendant McCain

Text: Although the trial court did not make specific findings of fact, the Court of Appeals upheld the summary judgment in favor of Dr. McCain after finding that the plaintiff failed to establish causation. See Tenn.Code Ann. § 29-26-115(a)(3) (Supp.2002). The court reasoned that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate that she will be able to prove that any act or failure to act by Dr. McCain caused her decedent to suffer injuries that otherwise would not have occurred. The plaintiff opposed Dr. McCain's motion for summary judgment by relying primarily on the testimony and supplemental affidavit of Dr. Ronald Krone with regard to the causation issue. Dr. Krone's initial affidavit stated that he was familiar with the applicable standard of care in the field of cardiology based on information he had reviewed with regard to the medical resources in Williamson County, Tennessee. Dr. Krone concluded as follows: [I]t is my opinion that if Gerald Dewayne Stovall had been specifically evaluated for coronary artery disease in January of 1997 or earlier, he would have been diagnosed as having coronary artery disease and he would have probably undergone coronary by-pass surgery. The survival rate for that operation would have been approximately 95 to 99%, and in my opinion, he would have had a better than 50% chance of surviving for 10 years. Therefore, it is my opinion that Gerald Dewayne Stovall, more likely than not, would have been alive today, if he had received appropriate cardiac evaluations. (Emphasis added). Dr. McCain did not examine Gerald Stovall until February 28, 1997, i.e., one month after the January 1997 date cited by Dr. Krone. As a result, the Court of Appeals correctly concluded that the plaintiff's response to the motion for summary judgment failed to demonstrate that any act or omission by Dr. McCain resulted in an injury that otherwise would not have occurred. Because of the plaintiff's motion to alter or amend, however, this does not dispose of the inquiry. As we noted earlier, the plaintiff filed a motion to alter or amend the summary judgment in favor of Dr. McCain. The motion to alter or amend was accompanied by, among other materials, the affidavit of Dr. Peter Tuteur, a pulmonologist from Missouri. Dr. Tuteur concluded that Dr. McCain failed to take a complete medical history; that Dr. McCain failed to investigate other causes for Stovall's symptoms, including coronary artery disease; and that if Robert W. McCain had complied with the standard of care required of him in February of 1997 during his pulmonary consultation, Mr. Stovall's underlying heart condition would have been diagnosed, and he would probably have undergone successful medical and or surgical management of his heart problem, and that to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, he would be alive today. As a threshold issue, we find that the trial court correctly agreed to consider the three additional affidavits submitted by the plaintiff in support of the motion to alter or amend the judgment. Indeed, the trial court acknowledged that it had agreed in advance to allow the plaintiff to submit additional evidence, and it expressly stated that it had considered the relevant factors set forth in Harris v. Chern, 33 S.W.3d 741 (Tenn.2000). Accordingly, we agree with the Court of Appeals' observation that the trial court properly considered the additional evidence. We disagree, however, with the Court of Appeals' determination that the trial court properly found that the new affidavits, including the affidavit of Dr. Tuteur, failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to causation based on the acts or omissions of Dr. McCain. The above quoted statement from Dr. Tuteur reflects his opinion that had Dr. McCain reached the right diagnosis, the decedent would have received medical or surgical treatment for his underlying heart condition and that the decedent, more likely than not, would have survived. On appeal, Dr. McCain argues that Dr. Tuteur was not qualified in the field of cardiology, that he was not competent to testify about the applicable standard of care, and that his statements were vague and conclusory. These arguments, however, take issue primarily with Dr. Tuteur's qualifications and the weight that should be given to his opinions. As we pointed out earlier, these are issues for trial and not for summary judgment. The critical question is whether there was a genuine issue of material fact with regard to causation based on the acts or omissions of Dr. McCain. We conclude that the evidence, when viewed in a light most favorable to the plaintiff, raised a genuine issue of material fact with regard to causation. Accordingly, the trial court erred in denying the plaintiff's motion to alter or amend the summary judgment granted to Dr. McCain.