UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Filed 6/27/96
TENTH CIRCUIT
CATHY HENRY, individually;
CATHY HENRY, Administratrix of
the Estate of Robert France, a
deceased minor,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
No. 95-6016
v.
(D.C. No. CIV-91-831)
(W.D. Okla.)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Acting through the United States Air
Force and Tinker Air Force Base,
Defendant-Appellee.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before PORFILIO, BRORBY, and EBEL, Circuit Judges.
Cathy Henry brought this claim against the United States pursuant to the
Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1346, for medical malpractice resulting in
the wrongful death of her ten-year-old son. The case was tried to a United States
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. This court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
Magistrate by mutual agreement and consent of the parties under 28 U.S.C. §
636(c). The Magistrate found that no employee or representative of the United
States committed any acts of negligence. Ms. Henry appeals, claiming that: (1)
the Magistrate abused her discretion by failing to permit the untimely
endorsement of an expert witness; and (2) the Magistrate erroneously shifted the
doctor’s burden of proof and erroneously found that Ms. Henry was contributorily
negligent. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 636(c)(3) and 1291, and
now AFFIRM.
I.
In her Memorandum Opinion and Order, the Magistrate found the following
facts. Beginning in May of 1989, Ms. Henry's son Robert France repeatedly
complained of nausea and vomiting. Ms. Henry's husband and Robert's
stepfather, David Henry, took Robert to the Tinker Air Force Base Hospital and
Clinics ("TAFB"), which referred Robert to Dr. Flores, a pediatric
gastroenterologist. On July 5, 1989, Dr. Flores examined Robert in the
Gastrointestinal Clinic at Oklahoma Children's Memorial Hospital. (Appellant’s
App. 2-c # 5). Robert's medical history, obtained from David Henry, indicated
that for six weeks, Robert had suffered abdominal pain and vomiting, usually in
the morning, followed by a headache that disappeared after Robert lay down.
There is no record that Dr. Flores conducted a fundoscopic examination, which
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apparently could have disclosed increased intracranial pressure (Id.). 2 Among
several potential diagnosis in his initial assessment, Dr. Flores included increased
intracranial pressure, although he noted it as unlikely. Dr. Flores prescribed
Zantac and Maalox for the treatment of gastritis and recommended that Robert
return in two weeks. (Appellant’s App. 2-d, # 5)
Robert was not taken to his July 24, 1989 follow-up appointment at the
Gastrointestinal Clinic. (Id. at # 6). On August 3, 1989, David Henry departed for
a one year assignment in Korea, leaving his family in Oklahoma. (Id. at # 7).
Robert was taken to Dr. Flores again on August 21, 1989, after his mother found
him suffering from severe vomiting. Dr. Flores found that Robert's gastritis was
much improved, and told Ms. Henry that Robert's headaches were caused by the
vomiting. Ms. Henry was told to call if Robert's condition worsened; otherwise,
they were to return in one week. (Appellant’s App. 2-e, # 8). Robert did not
return the next week. (Id. at # 9).
On September 18, 1989, Ms. Henry appeared for an appointment at the
United States Air Force Hospital, because Robert was complaining of headaches.
She was told that the doctor with whom Robert's appointment was scheduled was
2
A fundoscopic examination is an examination of the fundus of the
eye, or the part of the eye opposite the pupil.
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ill, and that she would need to reschedule. (Id. at # 10). She rescheduled for
September 21, but missed the appointment. (Id. at # 11).
Ms. Henry, concerned that Robert's symptoms were caused by his
stepfather's absence, took Robert to the mental health department of TAFB on the
morning of October 6, 1989. (Id. at # 13). The examining physician made a
provisional diagnosis of adjustment disorder and depressed mood. Ms. Henry
scheduled an appointment for Robert at the Family Clinic, then took Robert to
school. (Appellant’s App. 2-f, # 14-15). Later that morning, Robert began
vomiting and complaining of a headache. Ms. Henry was called and drove to the
school to pick him up. While in her car, Robert appeared to have a seizure. Ms.
Henry took Robert to the emergency room of TAFB. (Id. at # 16).
Robert was examined by Dr. Milham, an emergency room physician, at
11:45 a.m. (Id. at # 17). Robert's chief complaints, as entered in the emergency
room record, were vomiting, abdominal pain and a possible seizure. The only
medication Robert was recorded to be taking was Zantac. (Id. at # 18). Although
Ms. Henry testified at trial that she told Dr. Milham about Robert's history of
headaches, the hospital records referenced a history of abdominal pain, vomiting,
and loss of appetite and weight. (Appellant’s App. 2-f to 2-g, # 19). Dr. Milham
recorded Ms. Henry's concern that her husband's leaving for Korea may have
affected Robert. While Dr. Milham's report included the fact that the school had
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called Cathy that day because of Robert's vomiting and headache, no history or
pattern of headaches was recorded by Dr. Milham. (Id.)
Dr. Milham advised Ms. Henry that Robert was "malingering."
(Appellant’s App. 2-g, # 21). Ms. Henry insisted, however, that a pediatrician be
called, and Dr. Milham called the defendant, Dr. Cosby, at 12:50 p.m. and
requested that she come to the emergency room. (Id. at # 22). 3 Dr. Cosby
arrived in the emergency room at approximately 1 p.m. She had not previously
seen Robert or Ms. Henry. (Appellant’s App. 2-h, # 25). Before examining
Robert, Dr. Cosby talked with Dr. Milham about the patient history, and his
examination and findings. Among other things, Dr. Milham repeated his
observation that he believed Robert was malingering. (Id. at # 26).
The parties dispute whether Dr. Cosby then took her own patient history
from Ms. Henry; the Magistrate found that the weight of the evidence supported
that she did. (Appellant’s App. 2-i, # 28). In any event, the Magistrate found no
evidence that Ms. Henry told Dr. Cosby about Robert's headaches while in the
emergency room. (Id. at # 30). Dr. Cosby ordered the initiation of intravenous
fluids to address Robert's dehydration. She attempted several times to perform a
fundoscopic examination but was unable to do so because Robert had become
3
Dr. Cosby was a civilian pediatrician under contract with the United
States to provide pediatric services for Champus beneficiaries at Tinker Hospital.
(Appellant’s App. 2-g at # 23).
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combative. Dr. Cosby determined that sedating Robert for the purpose of
conducting a fundoscopic examination would interfere with observation of
Robert's condition. (Id. at # 31-33).
After Robert was taken to a hospital room at about 1:45 p.m., Dr. Cosby
wrote her orders regarding Robert's treatment and then returned to her patients in
the pediatric clinic. (Appellant’s App. 2-j, # 34). By this time, Dr. Cosby had
diagnosed dehydration as an acute problem and her differential diagnosis included
a drug overdose, gastritis, gastroenteritis and/or a concussion. (Id. at 35). The
pediatric admission assessment entered in the record at 2:45 p.m., after Robert
had been transferred to the medical/surgical floor from the emergency room,
included a history obtained from Ms. Henry. The admission assessment form
indicated no problems with headaches or other neurological symptoms. (Id. at #
38). 4
Dr. Cosby checked on Robert at 4:15 p.m. and again at approximately 8:30
p.m. (Appellant’s App. 2-j to 2-k, # 40-41). At the latter visit, Dr. Cosby
reviewed drug screen results and discovered that in addition to Zantac (the only
4
Although Dr. Flores' records of Robert's visits to the Gastrointestinal
Clinic were not part of the Tinker Clinic record and were therefore not part of the
record before Dr. Cosby, Dr. Flores' consultation report regarding Robert's first
visit to him on July 5, 1989, was included in the Tinker Clinic record. No
reference to headaches was made by Dr. Flores in that report. (Appellant’s App.
2-k, # 42)
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medication reported on Robert's emergency room history), the ingredients found
in Excedrin were present in Robert's system. Because of this inconsistency, Dr.
Cosby took additional history from Ms. Henry sometime between 9 and 10 p.m.,
at which time Dr. Cosby learned for the first time about Robert's "pattern"
headaches. (Appellant’s App. 2-k, # 43-44). Based on this additional history, Dr.
Cosby added the possibility of an intracranial lesion to her differential diagnosis
and scheduled a CT scan at Midwest City Regional Hospital for the following
morning. (Appellant’s App. 2-l, # 45 - 46). 5
After a subsequent blood test eliminated diabetic ketoacidosis as a potential
diagnosis, the primary remaining diagnosis was an intracranial lesion. Dr. Cosby
therefore decided to transfer Robert to Children's Memorial Hospital, a facility
where Robert could obtain not only a CT scan but also all the services he would
need should an intracranial lesion be found. (Appellant’s App. 2-l to 2-m, # 50-
51). After arranging a non-emergency transfer for Robert, and based on a
preliminary diagnosis of intracranial lesion, Dr. Cosby ordered the administration
of Mannitol and Decadron. (Id. at # 52-53). Approximately thirty minutes later,
however, at 12:10 a.m. on October 7, 1989, Robert suffered a respiratory arrest.
He was resuscitated and then transferred to Children's Hospital on an emergency
5
TAFB did not have the capability to perform a CT scan. (Appellant’s
App. 2-l, # 46).
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basis. A CT scan of Robert's head revealed a posterior fossa defect consistent
with a tumor. (Id. at # 55-56). Robert died approximately three hours later, at
3:15 a.m. on October 7, 1989. The immediate cause of death was recorded as
increased intracranial pressure due to brain tumor, posterior fossa. (Id. at # 57-
58).
Ms. Henry refused to allow an autopsy at the time of Robert's death and has
continued to refuse to allow an autopsy throughout the litigation of her claim.
The Magistrate found that only an autopsy could have determined the type of
brain tumor Robert had, and held that without this information no determination
could be made to a reasonable degree of medical certainty regarding Robert's
prognosis had the tumor been discovered earlier. Thus, it was not possible to
determine whether Robert's death could have been prevented or even delayed.
(Id. at # 59-60). The Magistrate further found that, based on the evidence
presented at trial, Dr. Cosby acted within the national standard of care for a
pediatrician. (Appellant’s App. 2-r, # 11-12). 6 The Magistrate held that Ms.
Henry failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) any negligence
or omission on the part of Dr. Cosby was a direct cause of the death of Robert; or
6
The district court also determined that Dr. Cosby was an employee of
the United States such that any negligence on her part would be attributable to her
employer. (Appellant’s App. 2-q, # 9)
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(2) that the patient care system and policy of TAFB was negligent in design or
function. (Id. at # 12-14).
II.
Ms. Henry's first claim of error is that the Magistrate abused her discretion
by excluding an untimely identified additional expert witness, Dr. Gabriel.
"When there exists a properly drawn, detailed pre-trial order, a trial court's
determination that certain facts or issues must [or should not] be excluded from
trial on the basis of a pre-trial order may be reversed only if there is an abuse of
discretion." Grant v. Brandt, 796 F.2d 351, 355 (10th Cir. 1986) (citation
omitted). 7 Where a district court establishes a reasonable deadline for
designating expert witnesses, "we are loath to interfere with the court's
enforcement of that order. Adherence to such scheduling orders are critical in
maintaining the integrity of judicial proceedings." 1488, Inc. v. Philsec
Investment Corp., 939 F.2d 1281, 1289 (5th Cir. 1991). See also Fed. R. Civ. P.
7
In its opening brief, the United States argued that Ms. Henry did not
preserve this issue on appeal because of failure timely to object and failure to
provide a specific offer of proof. At oral argument, however, it was conceded
that Ms. Henry had satisfied the standard of United States v. Mejia-Alarcon, 995
F.2d 982, 986 (10th Cir.)(“[A] motion in limine may preserve an objection when
the issue (1) is fairly presented to the district court, (2) is the type of issue that
can be finally decided in a pretrial hearing, and (3) is ruled upon without
equivocation by the trial judge.”), cert. denied, 114 S. Ct. 334 (1993) We
therefore review the Magistrate's action for abuse of discretion rather than for
plain error.
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16(f) (trial court may sanction failure to obey scheduling order by excluding
evidence). Ms. Henry must therefore demonstrate that the Magistrate's denial of
her untimely application was an abuse of discretion, which we have defined as
"an arbitrary, capricious, whimsical, or manifestly unreasonable judgment."
United States v. Hernandez-Herrera, 952 F.2d 342, 343 (10th Cir. 1991).
We note at the outset that little of the trial record has been designated on
appeal. The following sequence of events is discernible from the portion of the
record provided: The complaint initiating this lawsuit was filed on June 10, 1991.
(Appellant’s App. 1-d). The original deadline set by the Magistrate for
submission of plaintiff’s expert witness list was February 3, 1992. (Appellant’s
App. 1-e). On that date, Ms. Henry filed a motion to extend the deadline. The
Magistrate granted the motion and extended the deadline to February 24, 1992.
(Id.) On February 24, Ms. Henry filed with the trial court a list of the following
expert witnesses: Dr. Cosby; Dr. Alvin Osburn, who certified Robert's death at
Children's Memorial Hospital and who would testify as to cause of death; Dr.
Marc Hille, who would testify regarding the negligence of the defendants and the
nature of the tumor; Dr. Robert Cannon, a pediatric gastroenterologist who would
testify regarding the negligence of the defendants and the prognosis with
treatment of the tumor; and Dr. Deborah Ablin, a pediatric radiologist who would
evaluate the CT scan and other surrounding facts as to the prognosis with or
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without treatment. See Br. of Appellee at 10-11 (summarizing witness list). Trial
was scheduled for April 21, 1992. (Appellant’s App. 1-f).
In late March of 1992, Ms. Henry twice moved to have the discovery cutoff
date extended. (Appellant’s App. 4-a and 5-a). On March 31, the Magistrate
granted an extension of that deadline until April 7. (Appellant’s App. 9-a). The
order stated that "[t]he other deadlines, including the trial date of April 21, will
remain in place, unless by or before April 10, 1992, defendants request the trial
dates be stricken." (Appellant’s App. 9-b). As to witnesses, however, the order
noted that "the time for exchange of witness lists has long since passed, and no
request was made or extension granted [as] to that deadline." (Id.)
On April 16, 1992, a pretrial hearing was conducted in chambers, at which
time Ms. Henry orally moved to amend her pleadings and add an additional party.
(Appellant’s App. 11). She was instructed to file a written motion, which she did
on April 27. (Appellant’s App. 6-a). The docket sheet shows no activity between
May 1, 1992 and September 24, 1992, when the United States filed a motion to
dismiss for failure to prosecute the action. (Appellant’s App. 1-j). On September
30, 1992, the Magistrate denied the motion to dismiss and granted Ms. Henry's
April 27 motion to amend the complaint. (Id.)
On October 14, 1992, Ms. Henry filed her amended complaint. The
amended complaint added no new parties but alleged that Dr. Cosby's negligence,
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attributable to the United States, caused Robert's death. (Appellant’s App. 14).
The Magistrate entered a scheduling order on January 29, 1993, setting trial for
June 22, 1993. The scheduling order did not set a new date for submitting expert
witness lists. (Appellant’s App. 15-a).
On February 2, 1993, nearly one year after the already extended deadline
for designation of witnesses had passed, Ms. Henry moved to endorse Dr. Gabriel
as an expert witness. (Appellant’s App. 7-a). She asserted that Dr. Gabriel, a
pediatric neurologist, would testify as to the prognosis of the tumor and the
negligence of Dr. Cosby. (Id. at 7-c). The Magistrate denied the motion, writing:
The delays, extensions, and problems in concluding discovery in this
case are documented in the file and will not be summarized again. Suffice
it to say that this Court has given Plaintiff every opportunity to develop and
present her case. . . .
Certainly Plaintiff and her counsel have known since this action was
filed that Robert France died from a brain tumor. Thus, it is clear that from
the outset of this litigation Plaintiff knew she would have to present the
type of testimony she now claims only Dr. Gabriel can provide. In
addition, when Plaintiff filed her Witness List and her Final Contentions on
February 24, 1992, she identified [four] doctors as experts . . . She stated
that these individuals would testify as to the types of tumors, treatability,
and survival rates, the very issues on which she now wants to add a new
witness. . . . Obviously, Plaintiff was then satisfied that these four doctors
were proper experts to testify regarding tumors, and there is no indication
that these individuals cannot now be present . . . at the trial of this action.
Even though Dr. Cosby may not testify in support of Plaintiff's cause, she
and the other three doctors are apparently available.
It is difficult for this Court to understand how Plaintiff continues to
re[l]y on Dr. Cosby’s alleged change of testimony about which Plaintiff had
at least some indication as of January, 1992, and about which she was
clearly apprised by March, 1992, when Dr. Cosby’s deposition was taken.
Now almost a year later after the Court has already once allowed additional
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time for Plaintiff to depose one of its own listed witnesses, Plaintiff asks to
add yet another witness whose testimony is alleged to cover issues known
to Plaintiff since before filing this action and about which several available
and previously listed witnesses are to testify according to Plaintiff’s
statements to the Court. . . . Nothing that Dr. Cosby has said or done nor
any ruling by this Court alters the responsibility of Plaintiff’s counsel to
properly and timely prepare her case which preparation includes finding the
appropriate witnesses including experts in a timely fashion. Therefore, it is
the finding of this Court that Plaintiff has failed to show good cause for the
late endorsement of Dr. Gabriel.
Magistrate's Order, dated April 20, 1993 (Appellant’s App. 17-b to 17-d).
On appeal, Ms. Henry argues that her untimely attempt to designate Dr.
Gabriel was justified by two factors. First, her primary expert witness had a
sudden change of heart after the deadline to designate witnesses had already
expired. Second, Ms. Henry asserts that she relied on the Magistrate's indications
that when the trial was rescheduled, new deadlines would be set.
Ms. Henry alleges that she initially expected Dr. Cosby to be her primary
witness against the United States, and that Dr. Cosby represented to her that she
would testify on Ms. Henry's behalf. On March 3, 1992, Ms. Henry deposed Dr.
Cosby for the first time. Ms. Henry alleges that at the deposition, Dr. Cosby
reversed her position and decided she would not testify. Crucial to Ms. Henry's
argument is that Dr. Cosby suddenly and unexpectedly recanted at her deposition,
which occurred after the February 24, 1992 deadline to designate witnesses had
already expired.
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Ms. Henry has not provided this court with a copy of Dr. Cosby's
deposition testimony from March 3, 1992. 8 "The appellant, as the party claiming
the district court erred, bears the 'responsibility to order and provide all portions
of the transcript necessary to give the court of appeals a complete and accurate
record of the proceedings insofar as such proceedings relate to the issues raised
on appeal’." United States v. Davis, 60 F.3d 1479, 1481 (10th Cir. 1995) (citing
10th Cir. R. 10.1), cert. denied, 116 S. Ct. 1829 (1996). "When the record on
appeal fails to include copies of the documents necessary to decide an issue on
appeal, the Court of Appeals is unable to rule on that issue." United States v.
Vasquez, 985 F.2d 491, 494 (10th Cir. 1993). Because of the inadequate record
on appeal, we cannot properly consider this claim.
Moreover, we note that the portion of the record which we do have does not
support Ms. Henry's account of the timing. Indeed, Ms. Henry's March 20, 1992
application to extend the discovery cutoff deadline directly contradicts her
argument:
8
The Appellant's Appendix does contain pages 192, 207, 199 and 212
of a court reporter's transcript labeled "Donna Raye Cosby, M.D." (Appellant’s
App. 40-43). Appellant identifies these as "Dr. Cosby's Deposition Testimony,"
without specifying whether this testimony was from Dr. Cosby’s March 3, 1992
deposition or her supplemental deposition of February 2, 1993. To the extent that
we may consider such random excerpts of testimony, these pages do not address
the issue of when and for what reason Dr. Cosby decided not to testify on Ms.
Henry's behalf.
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Dr. Cosby was the primary expert for the plaintiffs until the 28th day of
January, 1992, when she stated that she no longer intended to be the
plaintiff's expert as she did not know what the accepted standards of care
were. . . . Dr. Cosby recanted [her previous] position on the above date
when the existing deadlines were very close. 9
(Appellant’s App. 4-a to 4-b)(emphasis added).
January 28, 1992 was not only before the final deadline to designate expert
witnesses had passed, but before an extension as to that deadline from February 3
to February 24 was requested and granted to Ms. Henry. Ms. Henry now protests,
as she did before the Magistrate, that Dr. Cosby's January 28, 1992 indication that
she would not testify was only tentative, and that she believed Dr. Cosby would
testify up until the deposition of March 3, 1992. See Plaintiff's Petition to Amend
Complaint, dated April 27, 1992 (Appellant’s App. 6-b to 6-c). That Ms. Henry
did in fact continue to rely on Dr. Cosby's testimony is supported by the fact that
Dr. Cosby's name was evidently on the witness list submitted on February 24,
1992. (See Magistrate's Order of 4/20/93, Appellant’s App. 17-c). Nonetheless,
Ms. Henry has provided to us no facts which reasonably could support her
continued belief that Dr. Cosby would testify on her behalf. Ms. Henry's second
justification for the untimely endorsement is that the Magistrate misled her into
9
Moreover, in her March 31, 1992 order granting a discovery
extension, the Magistrate noted that Ms. Henry "could have moved somewhat
more expeditiously to fill the void left by Dr. Cosby's change of position on
January 28." (Appellant’s App. 9-a)(emphasis added).
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believing that the deadline for witness list exchange would be extended. Ms.
Henry asserts that at the pretrial conference on April 16, 1992, the Magistrate
made oral statements which indicated that if the trial were rescheduled, new
deadlines would be set for parties to submit witness lists. These oral assurances
were buttressed by the Magistrate's written order of March 31, 1992, which stated
that various deadlines would remain in place unless the trial date was stricken.
Because the trial was rescheduled, Ms. Henry argues, she justifiably assumed that
all deadlines were to be reconsidered.
Again, Ms. Henry provides us with no record of the Magistrate implying an
extension of witness deadlines. The courtroom minutes of the April 16
conference make no reference to any deadlines. (Appellant’s App. 11).
Moreover, the written order of March 31, 1992 upon which Ms. Henry ostensibly
relied states: "[b]ecause Defendant United States makes reference to the Plaintiff
using this extension of time to 'shop for witnesses,' the Court would remind the
parties that the time for exchange of witness lists has long since passed, and no
request was made or extension granted [as] to that deadline." (Appellant’s App.
9-b). Assuming that as to this issue we have been provided with all relevant
portions of the record, we cannot conclude that this order left Ms. Henry with any
reasonable expectation that she was to be given additional time to locate expert
witnesses.
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III.
Ms. Henry's remaining claim of error is that the Magistrate improperly
shifted the doctor's burden of obtaining a detailed and intelligent neurology
history of pattern headaches away from the doctor and on to her, and thus
erroneously held that Ms. Henry was contributorily negligent in causing the death
of her child. Nowhere in the Magistrate's order, however, is there a finding of
contributory negligence on the part of Ms. Henry. The Magistrate's finding of
fact number 30 simply states: "There was no evidence that Cathy Henry told Dr.
Cosby about Robert's headaches while in the emergency room." (Appellant’s
App. 2-i). This was a finding of fact by the Magistrate which was ultimately
relied upon, along with other evidence, to conclude that Dr. Cosby was not
negligent. Ms. Henry has provided us with no portion of the record which would
suggest that the Magistrate made any finding of contributory negligence or
improperly shifted any burdens.
Ms. Henry also recites testimony from the record which she argues
indicates that Dr. Cosby departed from accepted medical standards in delivering
care to Robert. We review the factual findings underlying a trial court's rejection
of a negligence claim in a Federal Torts Claim action for clear error. Colorado
Flying Academy, Inc. v. United States, 724 F.2d 871, 879 (10th Cir. 1984), cert.
denied, 476 U.S. 1182 (1986) However, "[i]n the absence of a transcript . . . the
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Court of Appeals will not review an issue, even for plain error." Vasquez, 985
F.2d at 495. See also Fed. R. App. P. 10(b)(2) ("If the appellant intends to urge
on appeal that a finding or conclusion is unsupported by the evidence or is
contrary to the evidence, the appellant shall include in the record a transcript of
all evidence relevant to such finding or conclusion."). Ms. Henry has not
provided us an adequate record from which we may conclude that the Magistrate's
findings constituted clear error. Accordingly, we must defer to the Magistrate's
conclusion that there was no negligence on the part of the United States or any of
its employees.
IV.
The incomplete record on appeal does not support Ms. Henry's claim that
the Magistrate abused her discretion in excluding Dr. Gabriel's testimony, nor is it
sufficient to allow us to review whether the factual findings underlying the
Magistrate's determination of no negligence were clearly erroneous. Although the
events underlying this cause of action were tragic, under the law we must
AFFIRM the Magistrate's judgment.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
David M. Ebel
Circuit Judge
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