ESTATE OF DENNIS J HALLORAN V RAAKESH C BHAN MD
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
EILEEN HALLORAN, Temporary Personal
Representative of the ESTATE of DENNIS J.
HALLORAN, Deceased,
UNPUBLISHED
March 8, 2002
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v
RAAKESH C. BHAN, M.D., CRITICAL CARE
PULMONARY MEDICINE, P.C., and BATTLE
CREEK HEALTH SYSTEMS,
No. 224548
Calhoun Circuit Court
LC No. 98-003953-NH
Defendant-Appellees.
Before: Fitzgerald, P.J., and Hoekstra and Markey, JJ.
HOEKSTRA, J. (dissenting).
I respectfully dissent.
In this case, it is undisputed that defendant Bahn was board certified by the American
Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and held a certificate of added qualification in critical care
medicine from the ABIM and that plaintiff offered as her expert witness Dr. Thomas Gallagher,
who is board certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) and holds a certificate
of special qualification in critical care medicine from the ABA.
On these facts, I respectfully disagree with the conclusion of the majority that the second
sentence of MCL 600.2169(1)(a) does not apply in this case. Defendant Bahn’s board
certification plainly invoked the board certification provision of section 2169(1)(a) relative to
physicians who testify either on his behalf or against him. Unlike the majority, I view the board
certification itself, not the certificate of added or special qualification, to be the defining
credential for purposes of analyzing the applicability of the second sentence of section
2169(1)(a)1.
1
Although not dispositive, in my opinion, I also question whether the critical care certifications
are comparable in this case. I find no evidence in the record upon which to conclude whether
critical care certification by the ABIM and the ABA require the same or even similar training
and expertise.
-1-
I also believe that the majority’s reliance upon Tate v Detroit Receiving Hosp, ___ Mich
App ___; ___ NW2d ___ (Docket No. 225833, issued 1/15/2002) is misplaced. Tate is
distinguishable because, ultimately, the operative board certifications of the two doctors at issue
in Tate were the same. Here, they are different.
/s/ Joel P. Hoekstra
-2-
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