Willis v. Bender
| Citation | 596 F.3d 1244 |
| Decision Date | 03 March 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 07-8057.,07-8057. |
| Parties | Marcy WILLIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. D. Scott BENDER, M.D., Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
Donald J. Sullivan, Sullivan Law Offices, P.C., Cheyenne, WY, for Plaintiff/Appellant.
James Kaste of Lathrop & Rutledge, P.C. (Corinne E. Rutledge with him on the briefs), Cheyenne, WY, for Defendant/Appellee.
Before O'BRIEN, McKAY, and SEYMOUR, Circuit Judges.
Dr. D. Scott Bender, a general surgeon, perforated Marcy Willis' small bowel while performing a laparoscopic cholecystectomy (laparoscopic surgery to remove her gallbladder). Relevant here, Willis sued Bender for lack of informed consent and medical malpractice. The district court granted summary judgment to Bender on the informed consent claim. The medical malpractice claim proceeded to a jury trial. Willis requested a "captain of the ship" jury instruction which would have allowed the jury to hold Bender liable for his surgical assistant's negligence. The jury found in favor of Bender. Willis appeals from the grant of Bender's motion for summary judgment as well as the court's refusal to instruct the jury on the "captain of the ship" doctrine. We affirm as to the "captain of the ship" jury instruction but reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment to Bender on the informed consent claim.
Because we are reviewing the grant of summary judgment to Bender, we must view the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, Willis. See Sanders v. Sw. Bell Tele. L.P., 544 F.3d 1101, 1105 (10th Cir.2008), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct. 69, 175 L.Ed.2d 25 (2009). Bender conceded as much by proceeding on his motion for summary judgment as if Willis' allegations were true but not admitting so.
Prior to the surgery at issue in this case, Willis had undergone three abdominal surgeries: a 1979 appendectomy, a 1991 surgery to remove scar tissue and open her Fallopian tubes and a 2002 surgery to repair an abdominal hernia. As a result of these surgeries, Willis had a large abdominal scar running from her diaphragm to her pubic area and extensive abdominal adhesions.1 Due to these adhesions, Dr. Roland Fleck, the surgeon who performed Willis' 1991 and 2002 surgeries, advised Willis any future abdominal surgeries should be performed using an "open" rather than "closed" or laparoscopic procedure
In late 2002, Willis visited Dr. Fleck complaining of abdominal pain. Dr. Fleck prescribed medication. When Willis' pain began interfering with her sleep, she called Dr. Fleck's office. She was informed Dr. Fleck was unavailable for several weeks. Therefore, on March 13, 2003, Willis visited a medical clinic in Alpine, Wyoming. The clinic's physician assistant referred her to Dr. Bender in Afton, Wyoming.
Willis met with Bender five days later. Bender suspected Willis' gallbladder was the source of her stomach pain. He told her if his suspicions were correct, her gallbladder would need to be removed and he would prefer to remove it laparoscopically. Willis informed Bender of her surgical history and abdominal adhesions. She also told Bender about Dr. Fleck's warning against a laparoscopic procedure and recommendation for future abdominal surgeries to be conducted by an open procedure due to her adhesions. But Bender said laparoscopic surgery is the best procedure for individuals with adhesions because it does not create additional scar tissue. Willis asked Bender about his experience and track record with the laparoscopic procedure, whether he had ever been sued and whether he had ever had any problems with his medical license. Bender told Willis he had never been sued, never had any problems with his medical license and his success rate with the laparoscopic procedure was "99.9% right on the mark." (R. Appellant's App. Vol. I at 202.) Willis also asked Bender to consult with Dr. Fleck. Bender agreed to do so. Willis underwent an ultrasound examination several days later.
Approximately three days after Willis had the ultrasound, Bender called her to inform her the ultrasound revealed she had three large gallstones. During that conversation, she asked Bender if he had had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Fleck. Bender said yes and Dr. Fleck had agreed with the laparoscopic procedure. After Willis expressed hesitation with a laparoscopic procedure, Bender assured her if he could not perform the surgery laparoscopically, he would convert to an open procedure. Willis signed a consent form agreeing to the surgery.
On April 4, 2003, Willis, accompanied by her husband and sister, reported to Star Valley Medical Center (the hospital) for the surgery. Bender met with them prior to the surgery. Willis' sister asked Bender whether he was sure he could perform the surgery laparoscopically; Bender said yes. Willis' husband asked Bender if he had spoken to Dr. Fleck about the surgery and whether he had agreed with performing it laparoscopically. Bender again said he had spoken with Dr. Fleck and Dr. Fleck had agreed with the proposed surgery.
During the surgery, Bender twice attempted to enter Willis' abdomen on the right side where the gallbladder is located but encountered significant adhesions. He then moved to the left side of the abdomen where he was able to enter. Over the next two to three hours, Bender cut down adhesions to reach the gallbladder, which he proceeded to remove. During the procedure, Dr. Donald Kirk, a family medicine physician, held and positioned the laparoscope at Bender's direction.
Willis remained at the hospital overnight. The next morning, April 5, she had severe abdominal pain and greenish drainage from the umbilical port site. A doctor at the hospital gave Willis antibiotics and told her he would try to locate Bender. Later that evening, Bender checked on Willis and decided she likely had a small bowel perforation which needed to be fixed immediately. Bender opened Willis' abdomen along her midline scar (non-laparoscopically) and discovered a 5 cm small bowel perforation which he repaired. He closed the abdomen with staples.
Willis remained in the hospital until April 11. Three days later, she returned to Bender's office to have the staples removed. When the staples were removed, the wound spontaneously opened. Because the wound was infected, Bender did not re-staple it but cleaned and bandaged it. He sent Willis home with medication and arranged for a home healthcare nurse to assist her with wound care. The next day, Willis returned to the hospital because she could not stop vomiting. Bender suspected a small bowel obstruction or an ileus (temporary non-functioning of the intestine); further testing revealed an ileus. Willis remained at the hospital until April 19, when she was transferred, at her and her husband's request, to another hospital in Idaho, where she stayed until the ileus resolved (April 24).
Willis later discovered Bender had lied to her when she asked him about his experience and track record with the laparoscopic procedure, whether he had ever been sued and whether he had ever had any problems with his medical license. Bender had in fact been sued several times, including by a family of a patient who had died after undergoing a laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed by Bender in 2001.2 The parties settled that case prior to trial pursuant to a confidential settlement agreement. That same family also filed a complaint against Bender with the Wyoming Board of Medicine. The complaint with the Board was eventually resolved, in September 2003, after Bender agreed to and successfully completed a comprehensive assessment of his competency as a surgeon.3 However, at the time Willis first questioned Bender as to his medical competence, the complaint was under investigation. Bender also lied to Willis when he told her he had spoken with Dr. Fleck who had agreed with the proposed laparoscopic procedure. Bender never called Dr. Fleck prior to the surgery.
Willis sued Bender for medical malpractice, battery and fraud. She designated Dr. Clarence Braddock, a Professor of Medicine and Medical Ethics at Stanford University School of Medicine, to provide expert testimony to support her battery and fraud claims. Dr. Braddock opined that if Bender had provided false information to Willis in response to her questions, he breached his ethical obligation to Willis and her consent to the surgery would not have been informed. In support of her medical malpractice claim, Willis designated Dr. James McGreevy, a general surgeon and professor of surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine, as her expert. He opined the decision to remove Willis' gallbladder was valid and despite her surgical history, including Dr. Fleck's admonition to proceed with an open procedure, Bender acted reasonably in initially attempting a laparoscopic approach. He also said Bender's post-operative care of Willis, including performing the second surgery to repair the bowel perforation, met the standard of care. However, in his opinion, Bender was negligent in continuing with a laparoscopic approach after his first two attempts at gaining access to Willis' abdomen failed; Bender should have instead converted to an open procedure.
Bender filed a motion for partial judgment on the pleadings on the battery and fraud claims pursuant to Rule 12(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Bender argued that to the extent those claims alleged he had failed to disclose facts concerning his professional background, "no physician in the country has a duty to disclose [such] facts." (R. Appellant's App. Vol. I at 24.) Willis opposed the motion. While agreeing a doctor has no affirmative duty to disclose such facts, she claimed a doctor cannot lie when directly asked for this information and then use that...
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