Opinion ID: 3135317
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: My son had an orthopedicBI mean, anesthesia

Text: residency and he knew I was looking around for somebody to do total knees. And I said, Jeff, can you find out if there=s a good man in Chicago, and that=s what he did. Q. And had you known of Rush Pres before that discussion with your son? A. Yes. Q. And how did that come about? A. I played tennis with another doctor  and he and I were great friends  [a]nd he was a graduate of Rush Medical School and he was an internist who trained at Rush Medical School, residency. Q. What was your understanding about Rush then when you spoke with Jeff? A. I knew there were good docs at Rush. -7- Q. Did you then eventually hook up with a doctor at Rush to consult with on your knee? A. Dr. Aaron Rosenberg.@ On cross-examination, defense counsel revisited plaintiff=s testimony that he had his son Jeff Alook into Rush.@ The following exchange ensued between defense counsel and plaintiff: AQ. And as I think you mentioned earlier this morning, [Jeff] did that for you? A. Yes. He said a couple of the orthopedic residents recommended Aaron Rosenberg. I asked a few of my friends about Dr Rosenberg.  I felt very comfortable going to him. Q. So you had Jeff check out the orthopedic surgeons at Rush, and then you asked your colleague friend  about Dr. Rosenberg andB A. And I asked people in Boca. Q. You were used to making medical decisions yourself in terms of your own medical care. True? A. I was used to choosing the surgeon. Q. Particularly being an orthopedic surgeon, you wanted who you wanted for orthopedic surgery. True? A. I only knew orthopedic surgery. I had the same trouble the jury has in choosing doctors and other people.@ Plaintiff testified that he became a patient of Dr. Rosenberg at Rush in 1994. Plaintiff would make an appointment to see Dr. Rosenberg when plaintiff traveled from his Florida home to Chicago to visit with his son Jeff. According to plaintiff, at the start Dr. Rosenberg had conservatively treated plaintiff=s knee problems. However, because of the worsening condition of his knees, plaintiff had to eventually have a replacement of his right knee in August 1997. Plaintiff then underwent a subsequent operation a few days later in September 1997. During this procedure, Dr. Rosenberg removed two plates and screws from plaintiff=s left knee that were from a previous operation. -8- Plaintiff testified he was very pleased with the results from the first knee replacement surgery performed on plaintiff=s right knee by Dr. Rosenberg in 1997. As a result, plaintiff went back to Dr. Rosenberg for a surgical replacement of his left knee in February 1998. Plaintiff stated that he would have gone to Dr. Rosenberg for the surgery even if Dr. Rosenberg had moved his practice to a different hospital. Plaintiff testified that, prior to the left knee replacement surgery scheduled for February 9, 1998, he and his son Jeff discussed the anesthesia care for that procedure. Plaintiff explained this conversation during the following colloquy with his counsel: AQ. Now, relative to that operation  did you and Jeff have any discussion at all about the anesthesia care? A. We did. I asked him if he couldBI had Tom Krolick and Dr. Miller on the first operation and I liked both of them. I had asked Jeff if it was possible to have the same team.@ Plaintiff, however, testified that he was not aware how Dr. Krolick was selected to be plaintiff=s anesthesiologist for his first knee surgery at Rush. On cross-examination, defense counsel followed up on plaintiff=s testimony regarding the selection of his anesthesiologists during these earlier surgeries. Plaintiff offered additional explanation, as revealed in the following exchange with defense counsel: AQ. I think you mentioned that for the first surgery by Dr.Rosenberg, you had Jeff intervene for you to arrange the anesthesiologist, Dr. Tom Krolick; is that right? A. I believe Jeff saidBI said we didn=t discuss anesthesia, but he said something about I will pick the anesthesia, I have a friend who owes me a favor, something like that. And Tom Krolick and I hit it off .@ The colloquy continued: AQ. You had asked Jeff then prior to February of =98 to see if he could get both Tom Krolick and Rodney Miller for your February 9 procedure? -9- A. Yeah. When you come up from Florida to a big city, its nice to see one person you know in the operating room. I liked Rodney Miller.@ According to plaintiff, he subsequently found out that Dr. Krolick was not available for the February 9, 1998, surgery because he was scheduled to be out of the office that day. However, as plaintiff requested, Dr. Miller was assigned to his surgery as the anesthesiology resident. According to plaintiff, he was unaware prior to his surgery who the attending anesthesiologist would be. Plaintiff explained this during the following exchange with his counsel: AQ. By the way, did you know Dr. El-Ganzouri was going to be your doctor anesthesiologist that day? A. No I didn=t. Q. Who did you think it was going to be? A. I really didn=t know. Q. And upon whom did you rely, if anyone, for the selection of an anesthesiologist? A. I assumed Rush was going to select them. They have good docs at Rush. I knew that. I had two surgeries there.@ On cross-examination, defense counsel further inquired of plaintiff about the anesthesiology services he received during the prior operations on his knees. Plaintiff testified that in those procedures, he relied upon either the Aorthopedic surgeon and/or the hospital I was going to@ to select the anesthesiologist for the surgery. According to plaintiff, this reliance was based upon his Afaith in the institutions.@ Plaintiff=s son, Dr. Jeff York, also testified at trial. Jeff stated that in February 1998 he was employed by Rush as a resident in its anesthesiology training program. Jeff testified that he began his anesthesia residency at Rush in 1994 and completed it in 1998. As a result of his residency there, Jeff stated, he Athought highly of Rush.@ According to Jeff, when his father first asked him in 1994 about the quality of care that he would receive at Rush, Jeff told his father that he was Aenthusiastic about the services and nursing staff, doctors and postoperative care that he could receive.@ Jeff testified that he -10- Aspoke highly of Rush and encouraged [his father] to come to the hospital for medical care.@ Jeff further explained his enthusiasm about his father=s being treated at Rush in the following colloquy between Jeff and plaintiff=s counsel: AQ. I would like you to tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury about your initial conversation with your father about possibly coming to Chicago, Rush- Presbyterian-St. Luke=s for treatment. A. I was very enthusiastic about my father to come to Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke=s Medical Center for medical care. I had good knowledge of the surgeons, the nursing staff, and the postoperative care that could be given to patients as I was a resident in the anesthesia training program there. I encouraged him to come to Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke=s Medical Center because I thought that he could getBthat he could receive good care there. Q. Dr. York, will you tell us when you first discussed Dr. Rosenberg with your father in context of his conversation and contact with you about Rush? A. I was encouraging my father to come to Rush- Presbyterian-St. Luke=s Medical Center for surgical care. Q. When did you talk to your father about Dr. Rosenberg? A. I did some research asking individuals about the quality of orthopedic surgeons on staff at Rush- Presbyterian-St. Luke=s Medical Center. And I tried to find out which surgeon did the most total knees and who had the best results. And then encouraged my father to come to Rush for surgical care.@ Jeff testified that his father traveled from Florida to see Dr. Rosenberg for treatment from 1994 to 1997. In August 1997, his father underwent the first surgery by Dr. Rosenberg on his right knee. For that surgery, Dr. KrolickBa member of University AnesthesiologistsBwas the attending anesthesiologist. Jeff testified that after the August 1997 surgery, his father was -11- pleased with the results. Nine days later, his father had a surgical revision performed on his left knee by Dr. Rosenberg. Dr. Sklar was the attending anesthesiologist for that procedure. According to Jeff, his father was also pleased with the results of the second surgery. Jeff testified that Jeff=s friend Dr. Rodney Miller had been the anesthesiology resident assigned to these first two surgeries. With respect to the February 1998 surgery at issue in the instant cause, Jeff stated that he was aware prior to that surgery that Dr. Miller would be the resident anesthesiologist assigned to his father=s case. Jeff further testified, however, that he had no contact with any of his father=s other physicians or anesthesiologists prior to that surgery. Jeff testified that he did not know which attending anesthesiologist would be assigned to his father=s surgery, as revealed by the following colloquy between Jeff and defense counsel on crossexamination: AQ.  And you were aware before Monday of February 9th that Dr. Miller would be doing your father=s case come Monday? A. Yes. Q. And you were aware that your father specifically asked for Dr. Miller to be assigned to his case? A. He had shown a preference to Rodney Miller because he gave him good anesthetic care previously. Q. And when you found out that Dr. El-Ganzouri had been assigned to your father=s case for that Monday, February 9th, you voiced no objection to that assignment, is that right? A. I wasn=t aware that Dr. El-Ganzouri had been assigned to my father=s case for Monday. Q. Is it correct that when you learned that Dr. El- Ganzouri would be the anesthesiologist for your father=s case on the 9th of February, that you did not voice any opposition to that? A. I wasn=t aware that Dr. El-Ganzouri was going to be my father=s anesthesiologist for that coming Monday, that coming operation.@ -12- Jeff testified that, during the time period in which his father=s surgery occurred, anesthesiologists at Rush were assigned to surgical cases based upon their seniority and their specialty track. For example, an anesthesiology resident who was undergoing a certain type of training would be assigned to a certain type of case. The attending anesthesiologists would be assigned in the same manner. Jeff testified that the scheduling or assignment of anesthesiologists at Rush was generally handled by Ray Narbone. Narbone was a nurse anesthetist and an employee of Rush. According to Jeff, Narbone would review a daily list of the available anesthesiology staff and would assign certain residents and attending anesthesiologists to a particular case for that day. Jeff testified that patients did not select their anesthesiologists at Rush. Jeff stated that the first contact that a patient has with the Department of Anesthesia prior to surgery is with someone from the resident staff, who would be responsible for meeting the patient in the surgical holding area. During this preanesthesia evaluation, Jeff testified, there was no discussion of the employment relationship between the anesthesia physicians and the patient. Jeff further testified that at the time of his father=s February 1998 surgery, all the anesthesiologistsBboth attending and residentsBwore green scrubs with the Rush logo printed on them. Outside of the surgical setting, the attending anesthesiologist would wear a white lab coat with the Rush logo on the pocket. Jeff concluded his testimony by stating that the offices of University Anesthesiologists are located in a Rush building and, at the time of his father=s February 1998 surgery, all of the attending anesthesiologists at Rush were members of University Anesthesiologists. According to Jeff, he had no conversations with his father about University Anesthesiologists prior to his father=s surgery. Jeff stated that for his February 1998 surgery, his father indicated no preference for any attending anesthesiologist on staff. Jeff stated that heBand not his fatherBrequested that Dr. Krolik serve as the attending anesthesiologist for that surgery. -13- Dr. Rodney Miller also testified at trial. Dr. Miller stated that he participated as an anesthesia resident in plaintiff=s 1997 knee surgeries at Rush. Dr. Miller stated that he also served as the anesthesiology resident during plaintiff=s February 9, 1998, surgery because plaintiff and his son, Dr. Jeff York, Arequested@ Dr. Miller to participate. According to Dr. Miller, plaintiff and his son Jeff had also requested Dr. Krolick to serve as the attending anesthesiologist for the February 9, 1998, surgery. However, Dr. Krolick was not available on that day for surgery. Instead, Dr. El-Ganzouri was assigned to plaintiff=s case as the attending anestheologist. With respect to the events occurring on the day of plaintiff=s surgery, Dr. Miller testified as follows: AQ. In  the morning of February 9, 1998, did you see [plaintiff]? A. Yes. Q. Describe for the ladies and gentlemen of the jury where that would have been. A. That was in the holding area. I believe it was bed 24 or 25. That=s where I saw him. Q. Okay. Did you learn that morning who the attending anesthesiologist would be that you would be working with? A. It was scheduled to be with Dr. Krolick; but he was unavailable at the time, so there was a last minuteBBasically, Dr. Krolick was unavailable, so Dr. [El-]Ganzouri was the next available doctor and he ended up doing the case instead of Dr. Krolick.