Opinion ID: 1970225
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Traditional Approach

Text: One of the leading decisions reflecting the traditional approach is Cooper v. Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, Inc., 27 Ohio St.2d 242, 272 N.E.2d 97 (1971). In rejecting the loss of chance doctrine, the Ohio Supreme Court held: Lesser standards of proof are understandably attractive in medical malpractice cases where physical well being, and life itself, are the subject of litigation. The strong intuitive sense of humanity tends to emotionally direct us toward a conclusion that in an action for wrongful death an injured person should be compensated for the loss of any chance of survival, regardless of its remoteness. However, we have trepidations that such a rule would be so loose that it would produce more injustice than justice. Even though there exists authority for a rule allowing recovery based upon proof of causation by evidence not meeting the standard of probability, we are not persuaded by their logic. We consider the better rule to be that in order to comport with the standard of proof of proximate cause, plaintiff in a malpractice case must prove that defendant's negligence, in probability, proximately caused the death. Id. 272 N.E.2d at 103 (citations omitted). A substantial number of other jurisdictions have similarly decided not to adopt the loss of chance doctrine based on its apparent inconsistency with traditional causation standards. See Lisa Perrochet, Sandra J. Smith, and Ugo Colella, Lost Chance Recovery and the Folly of Expanding Medical Malpractice Liability, 27 Tort & Ins.L.J. 615, 629-32 (1992) (hereinafter cited as Perrochet) (listing 20 states that have refused to adopt the loss of chance doctrine). Nevertheless, one commentator has observed that a definite judicial trend recognizing lost chance of survival or recovery has developed. Darrell L. Keith, Loss of Chance: A Modern Proportional Approach to Damages in Texas, 44 Baylor L.Rev. 759, 769 (1992).