Opinion ID: 1975422
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Overview of the Lawsuit

Text: The Wagners filed their initial malpractice complaint, naming Dr. Kobrine, Dr. Wiesel, Georgetown, and an anesthesiologist, in 1993. Dr. Wiesel and the anesthesiologist were subsequently dismissed by stipulation, because they were full time employees of Georgetown who were covered by its self insurance trust. The lawsuit proceeded against Dr. Kobrine (who was not an employee of Georgetown) and Georgetown itself. In August 1996, after three-and-a-half years of complicated and sometimes tortuous pretrial proceedings (which we describe, to the extent they are relevant, in our discussion below of the issues raised on appeal), the case came on for trial. Following a pretrial ruling (discussed in detail below) that precluded the Wagners from pursuing their claim that Dr. Kobrine and Dr. Wiesel were negligent in operating on Mrs. Wagner without her informed consent, the Wagners proceeded to trial on theories of misdiagnosis, unnecessary surgery, and (against Dr. Kobrine only) surgical negligence. Specifically, the Wagners contended that Dr. Kobrine and Dr. Wiesel misdiagnosed the cause of Mrs. Wagner's back pain when they attributed it to stenosis, and that they recommended and went ahead with surgery that was inappropriate and not warranted by the results of diagnostic tests. In addition, the Wagners contended that Dr. Kobrine performed the surgery negligently by using an unduly large surgical instrument during the foraminotomy phase, impinging on a key artery as a result and causing an occlusion of the blood supply to Mrs. Wagner's spinal cord. At the close of the plaintiffs' case, Dr. Kobrine and Georgetown moved for directed verdicts (i.e., for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Super. Ct. Civ. R. 50(a)). The court took the motions under advisement. At the close of all the evidence, the defendants renewed their motions. The court in effect granted the motions with regard to the misdiagnosis claim, [4] denied or took the other motions under advisement, and submitted the case to the jury on the unnecessary surgery and surgical negligence claims. After four days of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendants. Thereafter, the Wagners moved for a new trial, while Dr. Kobrine moved for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (i.e., renewing his request for judgment as a matter of law, pursuant to Super. Ct. Civ. R. 50(b)). After extended argument, the trial court denied both post-trial motions. These appeals followed.