Court Opinion

ID: 9741438
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 20:55:41.60339+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:24.066243
License: Public Domain

KELLEY, Justice
(concurring specially).
I join the majority opinion. The author of the opinion, in my view, has clearly demonstrated that in this case, when considered in their totality, the instructions given by the trial judge adequately apprised the jury of the plaintiffs’ claims and the law applicable thereto.
However, Justice Yetka in dissent states a valid point. The use of the word “malpractice” in either instructions or in interrogatories on the verdict form can indeed be misleading. “Malpractice” has no more legal meaning than does “automobile accident.” The phrase should not be used either in instructions or on verdict forms. In a claim against a physician, the allegation may be that the defendant physician has committed a battery, or has been negligent, or both. However, as the majority correctly points out, in my opinion, this case is one where the claim was of negligent disclosure, not battery. The jury was properly instructed on the tort of negligent disclosure. For that reason, I concur in the opinion.