Appellant, plaintiff below., brought suit against appelleephysician for the allegedly negligent performance of a surgical operation which resulted in appellant’s blindness. A verdict for appellee was returned by the jury and judgment was entered thereon. Appellant appeals.
1. Several of appellant’s enumerations of error are premised upon the giving of the following jury charge which was requested by
The exact language of the contested charge appears in Hayes v. Brown, 108 Ga. App. 360 (133 SE2d 102) (1963). Resolution of the issues presented in the instant appeal mandate that we examine that language in the entirety of the context in which it appears, Division 1 of Hayes. Therefore, that division of Hayes is set out below:
“The basis for a malpractice action is provided in Code § 84-924 which provides: ‘A person professing to practice surgery or the administering of medicine for compensation must bring to the exercise of his profession a reasonable degree of care and skill. Any injury resulting from a want of such care and skill shall be a tort for which a recovery may be had.’ The degree of care and skill required is that which, under similar conditions and like surrounding circumstances is ordinarily employed by the profession generally. [Cits.] The court and jury must have a standard measure which they are to use in measuring the acts of a doctor to determine whether he exercised a reasonable degree of care and skill; they are not permitted to set up and use any arbitrary or artificial standard of measurement that the jury may wish to apply. The proper standard of measurement is to be established by testimony of physicians, for it is a medical question. [Cits.]
“A doctor is not an insurer and an unintended result does not raise even an inference of negligence. ‘A physician can not always effect a cure.’ [Cit.] The law recognizes that medicine is an inexact science at best and all a doctor may do is to assist nature in accordance with the present state of medical experience. ‘The fact that treatment has resulted unfavorably does not raise even a presumption of want of proper care, skill, or diligence.’ [Cits.] It is also well established in this jurisdiction that ‘the presumption is that the medical or surgical services were performed in an ordinarily skillful manner.’ [Cit.]” (Emphasis supplied.) Hayes v. Brown, 108 Ga. App. 360, 363 (1), supra.
It is noted that the first paragraph of Division 1 of Hayes, quoted above, sets the standard by which the acts and actions of a doctor must be measured in a medical negligence case: the degree of care and skill as established by medical testimony which, under similar conditions and like surrounding circumstances, is ordinarily
This court in the second sentence of the second paragraph of the Hayes decision was merely undertaking to make clear the legal principle upon which is founded the rule of law that malpractice may not be inferred from an unfavorable result — medicine is an inexact science at best. In this regard, it is appropriate to an appellate decision reviewing the evidence in a malpractice case but could not possibly enlighten a jury of fact finders on the objective standard of care required of a physician. Indeed, the sentence, if charged as written as was done in the instant case, is susceptible of being understood as imposing a lesser standard on physicians than the required degree of skill. However, the intent of the second paragraph of Hayes is not to imply a lesser standard of care for physicians than is established in the first paragraph — which is that a doctor must exercise that degree of care and skill ordinarily employed by the profession generally while assisting nature in accordance with the present state of medical experience. We believe that an instruction on
However, a review of the entire charge demonstrates that the jury was carefully and repeatedly otherwise informed of the correct standard which they were to apply in determining whether appellee was negligent. For this reason, and this reason alone, the error was harmless. See Bonita Theatre v. Bridges, 31 Ga. App. 798, 806, supra.
2. During the course of the trial a C-arm fluoroscope machine, the same machine used during appellant’s operation, was demonstrated before the jury. This demonstration was conducted by fluoroscoping a bare skull. Because a bare skull was used instead of the skull of a living person, appellant contends that the demonstration was dissimilar to the actual circumstances of her operation. Appellant made other objections based upon appellee’s failure to show that the operating condition and repair and maintenance of the machine was the same at the time of demonstration as during appellant’s operation. We find no error for any reason urged on appeal. The same machine was used and substantially the same conditions existed at the demonstration as at the operation except for the use of a bare skull. In matters concerning demonstrations such as this the trial court has broad discretion and it was not abused in the instant case. Atlanta & W. P. R. Co. v. Hudson, 2 Ga. App. 352 (58 SE 500) (1907); Watson v. Elberton-Elbert County Hosp. Auth., 125 Ga. App. 112 (186 SE2d 459) (1971).
3. Use by the trial court of the term “guilty” in referring to appellee’s alleged culpability for malpractice did not constitute reversible error. While it is clearly the better practice not to make use of the word in the context of a civil action, “guilty” is not necessarily restricted to criminal culpability. See Black’s Law Dictionary (4th Ed.) p. 836. We cannot say, therefore, that use of the term was so confusing or misleading as to constitute error.
4. Appellant contends that it was error to grant appellee partial summary judgment as to that count of her complaint which alleged appellee’s failure to disclose the risks and dangers involved in undergoing surgery.
“The legislature has defined the physician’s duty of disclosure
Judgment affirmed.