MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any Sep 08 2017, 8:33 am
court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK
the defense of res judicata, collateral Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Edmond W. Foley Edward L. Murphy, Jr.
Douglas D. Small Jason A. Scheele
Foley & Small Lauren R. Deitrich
South Bend, Indiana Rothberg Logan & Warsco L.L.P.
Fort Wayne, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Judy Harper, Estate of Terry D. September 8, 2017
Harper, II, ex rel. Judy Harper, Court of Appeals Case No.
Appellants-Plaintiffs, 71A03-1611-CT-2523
Appeal from the St. Joseph
v. Superior Court
The Honorable Jenny Pitts Manier,
Bruce Harley, M.D., Judge
Appellee-Defendant. Trial Court Cause No.
71D05-1601-CT-4
Mathias, Judge.
[1] Judy Harper (“Judy”), individually and on behalf of the estate of her husband
Terry Harper (“Terry”), sued Dr. Bruce Harley (“Harley”) for medical
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negligence in connection with Terry’s death in 2012. After a four-day trial, a St.
Joseph County jury returned a verdict for Harley. Judy now appeals the trial
court’s exclusion of certain evidence relating to Terry’s medical history and the
trial court’s denial of her motion for a directed verdict as to Terry’s cause of
death. Harley cross-appeals, claiming the trial court erred in granting Judy’s
motion for partial summary judgment.
[2] We affirm as to Judy’s appeal. We therefore do not reach Harley’s cross-appeal.
Facts and Procedural Posture
[3] For several years before 2012, Terry suffered from atrial fibrillation, a heart
condition he managed with the help of blood-thinning medication. The effect of
the blood thinner was to suppress the coagulants in Terry’s blood, making it
harder for Terry’s blood to clot normally and making Terry more vulnerable to
bleeding. Terry suffered internal abdominal bleeds in 2008 and 2010 (“the 2008
bleed,” “the 2010 bleed,” collectively, “the prior bleeds”). In both cases, doctors
administered fresh frozen plasma, a substance extracted from donated blood
that reverses the effect of the blood thinner by supplying the coagulants
necessary to enable normal blood clotting, administration of which is indicated
for bleeding coagulopathic patients. Terry recovered from both bleeds.
[4] On the afternoon of January 25, 2012, Terry presented at the emergency room
of a local hospital complaining of stomach pain. Harley, the responsible
physician in the emergency room that day, examined Terry and ordered a CAT
scan and blood work. The blood work showed Terry’s blood was too thin to
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clot, and, at around 9:00 p.m. that evening, the scan results indicated an
abdominal bleed. Harley did not order fresh frozen plasma.
[5] Terry was discharged from the emergency room and admitted to the
nonemergency medical floor around midnight. By 5:00 a.m., Terry was in
severe distress. Terry died shortly before 6:00 a.m. The death certificate listed
the causes of death as “acute abdominal bleed,” “atrial fibrillation,” and
“coronary artery disease.” Appellant’s App. Vol. II, p. 17. Terry suffered from
several health problems in addition to atrial fibrillation and coronary artery
disease, including hypertension, congestive heart failure, sleep apnea, obesity,
and a prior heart attack.
[6] As required by Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act, Ind. Code § 34-18-8-4; Reck
v. Knight, 993 N.E.2d 627, 630 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013), trans. denied, before filing a
complaint for medical malpractice, Judy submitted a proposed complaint to a
medical review panel of three physicians. In late November 2015, the panel
unanimously concluded that Harley “failed to meet the appropriate standard of
care” and that this failure “was a factor in a lost chance of survival.”
Appellant’s App. Vol. II, pp. 41, 44, 47. Judy filed her complaint for Terry’s
wrongful death and her loss of consortium in St. Joseph Superior Court on
January 4, 2016.
[7] On March 7, 2016, Judy moved for partial summary judgment on the issues of
duty, breach, and causation. On September 7, 2016, the trial court ruled for
Judy, finding no genuine issues of material fact “as to whether [Harley] failed to
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meet the appropriate standard of care” by failing to administer fresh frozen
plasma to Terry, nor as to whether Harley’s negligence “was a substantial factor
in [Terry] having lost a chance for a better outcome.” Appellee’s App. Vol. II,
p. 2. The only remaining triable issue was Judy’s damages, resolution of which,
the trial court noted, would “include a determination of [Terry’s] percentage
chance of survival before [Harley’s] negligent acts or omissions, and [Terry’s]
percentage chance of survival after [Harley’s] negligent acts or omissions.” Id.
[8] On August 29, 2016, a week before the court’s decision on Judy’s motion for
summary judgment, Harley filed a motion in limine, seeking exclusion at trial of
inter alia “[a]ny testimony by witnesses or argument by . . . counsel regarding
Harper’s previous . . . bleeds [in 2008 and 2010] or that administering plasma
would have prevented Harper’s death.” Id. at 220. On October 3, 2016, the
court conditionally denied Harley’s motion on that point, ordering that Judy
was permitted “to provide expert testimony concerning the matters addressed
[by Harley’s motion], with the understanding that any such testimony should
explain the rationale behind any such opinion and not simply be a conclusory
statement.” Appellee’s App. Vol. III, p. 11.
[9] Judy’s case was tried to a St. Joseph County jury over four days, from October
11, 2016, through October 14, 2016. Before the jury was seated on the first day
of trial, the court restated its ruling as to the prior-bleed evidence: “[A]gain I’m
going to require that [Judy’s] witness be fully able to discuss the prior bleeds
and how they do or do not differ from [the] one at issue, as well as how the
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amount of fresh frozen plasma administered is or is not sufficient to . . . make a
difference.” Tr. Vol. II, p. 10.
[10] Judy called Dr. Robert Collins (“Collins”) and Dr. Stephen Johantgen
(“Johantgen”), the latter a member of the medical review panel. After hearing
their testimony on Terry’s prior bleeds, the trial court found no evidence that
administration of fresh frozen plasma in 2008 “was . . . more probabl[y] than
not the cause that he was able to walk out of that event[,]” Tr. Vol. III, p. 227,
and concluded that the 2008-bleed evidence was therefore irrelevant and
inadmissible. Judy’s Exhibit 1, Terry’s medical records from the 2008 bleed,
were not admitted, and the jury was instructed that “the 2008 bleed is not
relevant to any issue the jury is to determine. You[, the jury,] are to make no
assumptions about [Terry] having survived that event.” Tr. Vol. IV, pp. 194–95.
The trial court’s ruling covered only the evidence from 2008; evidence on the
2010 bleed was admitted and not withdrawn from the jury.
[11] Before closing argument, Judy sought a directed verdict that Terry’s cause of
death was abdominal bleeding, which the trial court denied. The jury returned a
verdict for Harley; judgment was entered thereon.
[12] This timely appeal followed. Judy claims the trial court reversibly erred by
excluding the 2008-bleed evidence, and by denying her motion for a directed
verdict as to Terry’s cause of death. Judy seeks a new trial. If we grant the relief
sought, Harley asks us to consider his cross-appeal: whether the trial court erred
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in granting Judy’s motion for summary judgment on duty, breach, and
causation.
Standard of Review
[13] The decision to exclude evidence is within the trial court’s sound discretion,
and we will reverse only for prejudicial abuse of that discretion. Linton v. Davis,
887 N.E.2d 960, 965 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008), trans. denied. A trial court abuses its
discretion by ruling contrary to the logic and effect of the facts and
circumstances before it, or by misinterpreting the law. Id. But we will not
reverse an erroneous evidentiary ruling if the error was harmless, that is, if the
probable impact of the erroneously excluded evidence on the trier of fact, in
light of all the evidence in the case, was sufficiently minor so as not to affect a
party’s substantial rights. Kimbrough v. Anderson, 55 N.E.3d 325, 334 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2016), trans. denied. Because Harley’s submission on this issue does not
address Judy’s assignment of error,1 our review is for prima facie error, error that
is apparent “at first sight, on first appearance, or on the face of it.” Trinity
Homes, L.L.C. v. Fang, 848 N.E.2d 1065, 1068 (Ind. 2006).
[14] The decision to deny a motion for a directed verdict, or for judgment on the
evidence, is reviewed on appeal under the same standard as applied by the trial
1
Judy’s position is that the trial court applied the wrong legal standard to the admissibility of the 2008-bleed
evidence, which she defends with cogent argument and citation to authority. Harley never addresses the legal
standard applied by the trial court, and his brief on this issue is largely irrelevant and devoid of citation to
authority but for one passing reference to Evidence Rule 403.
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court. Hill v. Rhinehart, 45 N.E.3d 427, 435 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015), trans. denied.
We consider only the evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom favorable to
the non-movant. Id. A directed verdict is proper only where there is a total
failure of proof by the non-movant as to an essential element, or where the
evidence is without conflict and susceptible of only one interpretation, which is
favorable to the movant. Id.
Discussion and Decision
[15] As an initial matter, we note that, from the opinion of the medical review panel
to the trial court’s order on summary judgment, this case was conceived of as a
“loss of chance for survival” case. See Ind. Dep’t of Ins. v. Everhart, 960 N.E.2d
129, 133 (Ind. 2012) (measure of damages); Alexander v. Scheid, 726 N.E.2d 272,
276 (Ind. 2000) (situations where applicable), 278 (standard of liability); Mayhue
v. Sparkman, 653 N.E.2d 1384, 1387 (Ind. 1995) (nature of causation analysis
and how distinct from traditional proximate-cause analysis). The medical
review panel was unanimous in concluding that Harley’s breach of the standard
of care “was a factor in a lost chance of survival[,]” Appellant’s App. Vol. II,
pp. 41, 44, 47, and the trial court unequivocally ruled that Harley’s negligence
“was a substantial factor in [Terry] having lost a chance for a better outcome.”
Appellee’s App. Vol. II, p. 2. Damages, which the trial court’s summary
judgment order again unequivocally identified as the only remaining triable
issue, would “include a determination of [Terry’s] percentage chance of survival
before [Harley’s] negligent acts or omissions, and [Terry’s] percentage chance of
survival after [Harley’s] negligent acts or omissions.” Id.
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[16] But at some point between the trial court’s September 7, 2016, order on
summary judgment, and submission of the case to the jury on October 14, 2016,
plaintiff’s counsel elected to forgo a trial on loss-of-chance damages in favor of
a trial on traditional proximate causation and full wrongful-death damages. The
trial court’s preliminary instructions, given without recorded objection from
either party, instructed the jury that Judy had to prove that Harley’s negligence
“was a responsible cause”2 of Terry’s death. Tr. Vol. II, p. 22. The court’s final
instructions, again given without recorded objection, were identical to its
preliminary instructions in this respect. Tr. Vol. IV, p. 239. Defense counsel
told the jury in opening statements, “We’re not here on a lost chance of survival
case.” Tr. Vol. II, p. 51. Plaintiff’s counsel either chose this course or
acquiesced in its being taken, but does not so much as acknowledge the
variance in either of the briefs on appeal.
[17] We review the trial as it was tried. Specifically, we review Judy’s appeal as a
traditional claim for medical negligence proximately causing death, Scheid, 726
N.E.2d at 279, rather than the loss-of-chance damages case contemplated by the
trial court’s summary judgment order. Importantly, our review under the latter
rubric would be of no use to Judy. Any error we might find would be harmless
because there was not sufficient evidence presented on which the jury could
have based a non-speculative loss-of-chance damages award, Wolfe v. Estate of
2
Our most recent model jury instructions use this term in place of “proximate cause.” Green v. Ford Motor Co.,
942 N.E.2d 791, 796 n.1 (Ind. 2011).
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Custer by Custer, 867 N.E.2d 589, 599 n.10, 602 (requiring some evidence
permitting quantification of increased risk of harm), and no probability that the
jury would have done so without being instructed to.
[18] The parties accepted the trial court’s ruling that Harley’s failure to administer
fresh frozen plasma to Terry fell beneath the standard of care. Judy then had to
show (or rather, chose to have to show) that Harley’s negligence proximately
caused Terry’s, and derivatively her injuries, Mayhue, 653 N.E.2d at 1386. In
particular, because a proximate cause is a cause-in-fact, it was Judy’s burden to
show that, but for Harley’s negligence, Terry probably would have survived the
events of January 25 and 26, 2012.
I. The Trial Court Did Not Reversibly Err in Excluding the 2008-Bleed
Evidence
[19] We begin by defining the scope of the trial court’s ruling as to the 2008-bleed
evidence. We next note the trial court’s basis for its ruling. We then conclude
that Judy waived her claim on appeal by failing to raise it below, and that any
error was harmless in any case.
A. Scope of Ruling
[20] First, Collins was not permitted to opine as to any causal connection between
the administration of fresh frozen plasma in 2008 and Terry’s survival in 2008,
nor to base his opinion as to Terry’s chances in 2012 on the 2008 evidence. But,
very importantly, this ruling was not entered on alleged irrelevancy, but as a
discovery sanction for plaintiff’s counsel’s failure to disclose until the first day
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of trial that Collins’s opinion on this matter would be sought. See Ind. Trial
Rule 26(E)(1)(b) (continuing duty of proponent of expert testimony to
supplement prior discovery responses as to “subject-matter” and “substance” of
testimony expected); O’Banion v. Ford Motor Co., 43 N.E.3d 635, 646 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2015), trans. denied (exclusion of new opinion appropriate remedy for late
disclosure of newly formed expert opinions). The trial court further barred
Collins from testifying as to how quickly fresh frozen plasma was administered
to Terry in the 2008 bleed because those facts “support[ed] an opinion that
[couldn’t] be admitted [because of the trial courts’s earlier ruling concerning the
irrelevancy of the 2008 bleed as presented] . . . [namely] that rapid
administration was what resulted in the positive outcome in 2008. Tr. Vol. II, p.
122. Plaintiff’s counsel was permitted to elicit Collins’s testimony as to the
sequencing and timing of administering fresh frozen plasma in general, without
specific reference to the administration of fresh frozen plasma in 2008.
[21] Second, the following testimony of Johantgen drew a conclusion from the
administration of fresh frozen plasma in 2008 that the trial court would later
prohibit the jury from applying to the 2012 bleed by the subject ruling:
Q. Do you have an opinion as to whether the fresh
frozen plasma given to . . . Mr. Harper in 2009 was
a causative reason for him being able to survive that
bleed?
A. Yes.
Q. What is your opinion?
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A. Yes, certainly. Yes, I believe that that was
certainly—certainly helpful in his—in his survival.
Q. Okay.
A. Couldn’t actually predict what happened if he did
not get it, but it certainly was the thing to do, and
certainly further[ed] his chances of survival.
Tr. Vol. II, p. 228. The trial court’s later ruling instructed the jury “to make no
assumptions about [Terry] having survived” in 2008. Tr. Vol. IV, pp. 194–95.
[22] Third, Dr. Gregory Henry (“Henry”), testifying for the defense, drew the
opposite conclusion from the administration of fresh frozen plasma in 2008:
Q. Do you believe that the fresh frozen plasma that
[Terry] was given in 2008 was the reason he
survived the incident?
A. Unlikely. . . .
Q. [W]ould you draw any possible causal connection
between the administration of four units of fresh
frozen plasma to Mr. Harper in 2008 and the fact
that he survived[?] . . .
A. I think that he survived, he got the medicine.
There’s nothing that indicates that medicine
actually caused the survival. They . . . are
independently occurring events.
Tr. Vol. III, pp. 38–40. The trial court would later also prohibit the jury from
applying this conclusion to the 2012 bleed in its later ruling instructing the jury
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“to make no assumptions about [Terry] having survived” in 2008. Tr. Vol. IV,
pp. 194–95.
[23] Fourth, Judy’s Exhibit 1, Terry’s medical records from the 2008 bleed, was not
admitted. The records described diagnoses of among other things,
hypocoagulability due to the blood thinner and spontaneous bleeding, as well as
Terry’s treatment with fresh frozen plasma and his subsequent recovery.
Appellant’s App. II, pp. 18–30. Exhibit 1 did not make any express causal
connection between the former and the latter. Exhibit 1 also recorded the
timing of the various steps in Terry’s treatment.
[24] Finally, the trial court permitted plaintiff’s counsel to rely on the rate of
administration of fresh frozen plasma in 2008 so long as causation was not
implied:
[Court:] I’m permitting [plaintiff’s counsel] to . . . only refer
to the rate evidence, not tie it up to [Terry’s]
survival, he walked out the door, anything. Just that
it’s possible—“You’ve heard evidence that it’s
possible to”—
[Counsel:] The rate? The rate? Okay. . . .
[Court:] Not [in Terry’s particular case] even. That it is
possible to receive and administer fresh frozen
plasma, four units of it, within approximately 80
minutes. Okay? Don’t tie it up with him or the
survival.
Tr. Vol. IV, p. 191.
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B. Basis of Ruling
[25] As outlined above, Collins’s opinion on causation with respect to the 2008
bleed was excluded as a discovery sanction. Once Collins’s testimony had been
so limited, the trial court, relying in part on its ruling on Harley’s motion in
limine, required some other evidence of causation—specifically, evidence that
constituted or permitted proof of causation by a preponderance of the
evidence—to permit admission of the 2008-bleed evidence without limitation:
[Court:] [T]here was an objection that [Collins] was offering
an opinion—he was going to—wanted to offer an
opinion, about something that [plaintiff’s counsel]
hadn’t disclosed. And my feeling was if [Collins]
was allowed to testify to the facts and there wasn’t
some other expert who could support—supply the
causative element, that the jury would just be left to
believe it could infer on its own . . . .
[T]he problem is it’s—it’s—[the jury] can’t assess
what to make of th[e] factual data [from 2008].
They are not physicians. And nobody has testified
that the administration of fresh frozen plasma
would have, you know—was the reason—was
probably the cause of—more probabl[y] than not
the cause that [Terry] was able to walk out of [the
hospital in 2008]. So the jury can’t supply that. And
to have that data hanging out there to either directly
or suggest inferentially that the jury can make that
assessment is not proper. . . .
The only reason for having [the 2008 bleed] to be
considered by the jury is for them to draw the
inference that the fresh frozen plasma was the
reason [Terry survived in 2008]. And there’s got to
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be medical or expert testimony that supports that.
And Dr. Collins, if he had th[e] opinion [that fresh
frozen plasma caused Terry’s survival in 2008],
hadn’t disclosed it. And this Dr. Johantgen was shy
of that [by testifying only that fresh frozen plasma
was a “causative reason,” rather than a “responsible
cause,” of Terry’s survival in 2008]. And it’s up to
the jury to then make that inference. And they can’t
do that. That’s not appropriate.
Tr. Vol. III, pp. 225, 227–28.
C. Waiver and Harmlessness
[26] For her appeal, Judy claims that the trial court improperly required proof of
causation by a preponderance of the evidence as a predicate to admission of the
2008-bleed evidence; that the 2008-bleed evidence was relevant under Evidence
Rule 401; that its probative value was not substantially outweighed by the
dangers of Evidence Rule 403; and that exclusion “eviscerated” Judy’s case for
causation as to the 2012 bleed. Appellant’s Br. at 14.
[27] Judy waived this line of attack on the trial court’s ruling by failing to raise it
below. See Perez v. Bakel, 862 N.E.2d 289, 295 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). Specifically,
plaintiff’s counsel never voiced a single note of opposition to proof of causation
by a preponderance as a predicate for admission of the 2008-bleed evidence.
Defense counsel proposed the standard on the first day of trial before the jury
was seated and preliminarily instructed. Tr. Vol. II, p. 5. Plaintiff’s counsel was
silent. The court then adopted defense counsel’s proposed standard: “I’m going
to require that your witness be fully able to discuss the prior bleeds and . . . how
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the amount of fresh frozen plasma administered is or is not sufficient to be—at
a level to make a difference.” Id. at 10 (emphasis added). Again plaintiff’s counsel
was silent.
[28] After Collins and Johantgen had testified, and the parties debated whether
Johantgen’s testimony had laid a sufficient foundation for admission of the
2008-bleed evidence, the court asked plaintiff’s counsel directly, “What
consequence is to be made of the fact that Dr. Johantgen didn’t testify to the
level of evidentiary significance that he needed to [by testifying that fresh frozen
plasma in 2008 was a “causative reason” for Terry’s survival but not a
“responsible cause”].” Tr. Vol. III, p. 224. Plaintiff’s counsel responded that it
did not have “any effect” because Harley’s witnesses
talked about all of the readings in the records. Now to not admit
that stuff, it’s been discuss ed not only in our cases but with their
own expert. . . . [N]ow it’s out there. And I think it’s only fair to
put those records, both ’08 and ’10, in, Your Honor.
Id. at 224. At best, counsel’s response was a simple failure to object in the terms
now argued on appeal.
[29] We acknowledge that this standard did not appear in the trial court’s order on
Harley’s motion in limine. Defense counsel cited no authority for its application
when it was proposed, and the trial court did not disclose the legal basis for its
adoption. But it was precisely for this reason that contemporaneous objection
was required to preserve the issue properly for review. Particularly in a case
such as this, where the claims to be tried—and thus the grounds of evidentiary
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relevancy and admission—shifted repeatedly without notice or explanation in
the record, we are not in a position to review the trial court’s exercise of its
discretion in light of the facts and circumstances before it, because we do not
have a full account of those facts and circumstances before us absent a record
developed by contemporaneous objection. In short, if plaintiff’s counsel thought
the trial court was applying an incorrect standard, he ought to have afforded to
the trial court the opportunity to correct or explain its application. Judy will not
be heard on this issue for the first time on appeal.
[30] Waiver notwithstanding, however, review on the merits would be of no help to
Judy because any error was harmless in light of all the evidence actually
admitted in the case. What she characterizes as the “eviscerat[ion]” of her case
was no such thing. Appellant’s Br. at 14.
[31] Judy argues that the trial court’s ruling precluded her from presenting evidence
on the rate of administration of fresh frozen plasma, specifically evidence that
Terry could have received enough fresh frozen plasma in time to save his life. It
was one of Harley’s chief arguments that Terry’s bodyweight was too high, and
his general health too fragile, for sufficient amounts of fresh frozen plasma to be
administered rapidly enough to prevent Terry’s death. In 2008, Terry received
four units of fresh frozen plasma in one hour and twenty-one minutes. But this
and other evidence of timing and rate of administration, per the trial court’s
order permitting it from Collins and per plaintiff’s counsel’s examination of
witnesses other than Collins, was put before the jury at closing argument:
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Dr. Harley admitted that if he had chosen to give fresh frozen
plasma . . . Terry could have gotten it in two to three hours. Dr.
Johantgen estimated it would take 60 to 90 minutes. Dr. Collins .
. . was questioned by [defense counsel] in his deposition and he
agreed . . . that the best you could hope for in 2012 was 45
minutes from the time of ordering to [infusion]. . . .
If you . . . take their 45 minutes to 90 minutes, . . . that would
have given Terry at least six hours of exposure. And even under
their own expert’s testimony he could have survived . . . .
[Collins] said that [Terry] was healthy enough to have received
the fresh frozen plasma. He says that the vital signs suggest
[Terry] would have done very well with that[.] . . .
[Henry, one of Harley’s experts,] said if you hang a couple of
those bags[, i.e., units of fresh frozen plasma,] you can process it
maybe in a couple of hours. He also talked about that it’s possible
to get . . . four units infused within an hour and 21 minutes.
Even if you use their own documentation on [the timing
question], it was clear that if Dr. Harley . . . had ordered [fresh
frozen plasma] when he should have, after the CAT scan results,
he had enough time go get the fresh frozen plasma and to make it
therapeutic. Dr. Collins said that clearly. Dr. Johantgen said that
clearly.
Henry . . . said that you can get four units of fresh frozen plasma
within an hour and 21 minutes. So if you—if you say the CAT
scan’s at 9:15. . . . Go from 9:15 to 10:30. . . . [T]here’s four
units. Then you go from 10:30 . . . to 12:00, now he’s got eight
units. . . . And then [by] 1:30 to 3:00, he’s got 16 units. . . . It’s
only three o’clock in the morning, two hours before he dies. He
clearly, under their own evidence, could have gotten enough
fresh frozen plasma to have survived.
Tr. Vol. IV, pp. 201–02, 205, 207, 231–33 (emphasis added).
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[32] In light of all the evidence as to timing received by the jury, we cannot perceive
what material facts were actually withheld from it. Judy responds that
“argu[ing] in general terms” about four units in circa eighty minutes was not the
same “as being able to argue that this particular patient” could withstand that rate
of administration, Appellant’s Reply Br. at 11, but, as recited above, Judy did
present evidence from Collins about Terry’s capacity to receive plasma. And
Terry’s capacity to tolerate administration of fresh frozen plasma at a certain
rate in 2008 was only weakly probative of his same capacity in 2012, as it was
not seriously contested that Terry’s comorbidities had worsened significantly in
that period.
[33] Finally, we see no or only minimal probability that the outcome in this case
would have been different had the jury been permitted to draw an inference as
to Terry’s death in 2012 from Terry’s survival in 2008. As contemplated by the
trial court’s subject ruling, Terry’s survival in 2008 was relevant to his death in
2012 only if the administration of fresh frozen plasma in 2008 played a role in
his survival, and only to the extent that a similar outcome could have been
expected in 2012. The only evidence for the former was Johantgen’s testimony
that administration of fresh frozen plasma in 2008 was “certainly helpful” to
Terry. Tr. Vol. II, p. 228. Particularly in the absence of evidence that Terry was
in mortal danger in 2008 (i.e., without medical intervention, Terry probably
would have died in 2008), Johantgen’s testimony was only weakly probative of
the effect fresh frozen plasma would have had in 2012. And there was little
evidence supporting direct comparison between 2008 and 2012: the bleeds were
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of different natures, the protocols for administering fresh frozen plasma had
changed, and Terry was a changed patient. The question was never whether
fresh frozen plasma can be life-saving in the abstract; the only question was
whether fresh frozen plasma would have saved Terry’s life on January 25 and
26, 2012.
[34] In sum, the 2008-bleed evidence, to the extent that it was relevant, probative,
and then actually excluded, was cumulative of Judy’s strongest evidence: the
opinions of Collins and Johantgen, established through extensive direct
testimony and defended by plaintiff’s counsel’s extensive cross-examination of
Harley’s experts, that administration of fresh frozen plasma in 2012 more likely
than not would have prevented Terry’s death. But the jury was not persuaded.
Judy has not carried her burden in this appeal to show any reasonable
likelihood of a different outcome had the jury been permitted to consider that
fresh frozen plasma was “certainly helpful” to Terry in 2008. Tr. Vol. II, p. 228.
II. The Trial Court Did Not Err in Failing to Grant Judy’s Motion for
a Directed Verdict
[35] Judy claims next that the trial court reversibly erred in failing to grant her
motion for a directed verdict as to Terry’s cause of death. Because the evidence
was neither without conflict nor susceptible of only one interpretation favorable
to Judy, we disagree. Specifically, a reasonable jury could have concluded that
Judy had not proved by a preponderance of the evidence that intra-abdominal
bleeding was the sole cause of Terry’s death.
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[36] There was no autopsy, and the medical review panel was unable to determine a
cause of death. The death certificate listed Terry’s three causes of death as
“acute abdominal bleed,” “atrial fibrillation,” and “coronary artery disease.”
Appellant’s App. Vol. II, p. 17. Collins and Johantgen testified that the cause of
death was the abdominal bleed. But Henry testified that it was not possible to
identify one probable cause of death in Terry’s case, and that the “most
probable cause of death” was some combination of the abdominal bleed,
ventricular fibrillation, and medication-induced suppression of cardiac function.
Tr. Vol. III, p. 102. Dr. James Walter, another expert for Harley, testified that
the “two most likely causes of death” were the abdominal bleed and myocardial
infarction. Tr. Vol. IV, p. 31.
[37] This evidence at least permits a reasonable inference that the abdominal bleed
was not the sole or sufficient cause of Terry’s death, but was only fatal in
combination with other factors. Moreover, the evidence given by the expert
witnesses as to the facts underlying their opinions could have led the jury to
reasonably favor another causal factor over the abdominal bleed. It was not
error for the trial court to leave the question where it was: within the province
of the jury.
Conclusion
[38] Judy waived her challenge to the trial court’s exclusion of the 2008-bleed
evidence, and any error was harmless. The trial court properly denied Judy’s
motion for a directed verdict on Terry’s cause of death. Its judgment is therefore
affirmed, and Harley’s cross-appeal is moot.
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[39] Affirmed.
Altice, J., concurs.
Kirsch, J., dissents with opinon.
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IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Judy Harper, Estate of Terry D. Court of Appeals Case No.
Harper, II, ex rel. Judy Harper, 71A03-1611-CT-2523
Appellants-Plaintiffs,
v.
Bruce Harley, M.D.,
Appellee-Defendant.
Kirsch, Judge, dissenting.
[40] In 2008, Terry Harper (“Terry”) who had atrial fibrillation, a heart condition
managed with blood-thinning medication, suffered an abdominal bleed and
went to the hospital emergency room. There, he was treated with fresh frozen
plasma. Fresh frozen plasma is extracted from donated blood. It supplies the
coagulants necessary to enable normal blood clotting, thus mitigating the effect
of the blood thinner medication. Terry survived.
[41] In 2010, Terry continued to suffer from atrial fibrillation. He, again, suffered an
abdominal bleed, and again, he went to the hospital emergency room where,
again, he was treated with fresh frozen plasma. Terry again survived.
[42] In 2012, Terry suffered another abdominal bleed. He went to the emergency
room with the same symptoms as in 2008 and 2010, but he received different
medical treatment. On this occasion, he was treated in the hospital emergency
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 71A03-1611-CT-2523 | September 8, 2017 Page 22 of 24
room by Dr. Bruce Harley, the defendant in this action. Dr. Harley did not
treat Terry with fresh frozen plasma. Rather, he discharged Terry from the
emergency room to a non-emergency medical unit where Terry died a few
hours later. The death certificate listed the causes of death as “acute abdominal
bleed,” “atrial fibrillation,” and “coronary artery disease.” Appellant’s App.
Vol. II at 17.
[43] In 2015, a medical review panel of three doctors convened under Indiana’s
Medical Malpractice Act unanimously concluded that Harley “failed to meet
the appropriate standard of care” and that his failure “was a factor in a lost
chance of survival.” Appellant’s App. Vol. II, at 41, 44, 47.
[44] Terry’s wife, Judy, filed a Complaint for medical malpractice and a motion for
partial summary judgment on the issues of duty, breach, and causation. The
trial court entered partial summary judgment finding no genuine issues of
material fact “as to whether [Harley] failed to meet the appropriate standard of
care” by failing to administer fresh frozen plasma to Terry, nor as to whether
Harley’s negligence “was a substantial factor in [Terry] having lost a chance for
a better outcome.” Appellee’s App. Vol. II at 2. The only remaining triable
issue was Judy’s damages which, the trial court noted, would “include a
determination of [Terry’s] percentage chance of survival before [Harley’s]
negligent acts or omissions, and [Terry’s] percentage chance of survival after
[Harley’s] negligent acts or omissions.” Id.
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[45] Harley filed a motion in limine, seeking to exclude “[a]ny testimony by
witnesses or argument by . . . counsel regarding [Terry]’s previous . . . bleeds [in
2008 and 2010] or that administering plasma would have prevented [Terry]’s
death.” Id. at 220. The trial court conditionally denied Harley’s motion,
ordering that Judy was permitted “to provide expert testimony concerning the
matters addressed [by Harley’s motion], with the understanding that any such
testimony should explain the rationale behind any such opinion and not simply
be a conclusory statement.” Appellee’s App. Vol. III at 11.
[46] Prior to trial, the court restated its ruling as to the prior-bleed evidence:
“[A]gain I’m going to require that [Judy’s] witness be fully able to discuss the
prior bleeds and how they do or do not differ from [the] one at issue, as well as
how the amount of fresh frozen plasma administered is or is not sufficient to . . .
make a difference.” Tr. Vol. II at 10. At trial, the court excluded the evidence
of the decedent’s prior abdominal bleed in 2008 and its treatment.
[47] I believe that the trial court erred in excluding the evidence of Terry’s 2008
abdominal bleed. The evidence of this bleed, and its treatment, like that
suffered by Terry in 2010, was relevant to the circumstances of Terry’s 2012
abdominal bleed which led to his death. The jury should have heard and
considered this evidence in order to reach its verdict.
[48] Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
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