Mead v. Legacy Health System
Annotate this CaseAn emergency room doctor telephoned defendant (an on-call neurosurgeon)to ask his advice about plaintiff, who had come into the emergency room for treatment. When plaintiff later sued defendant for malpractice, the jury returned a verdict in defendant's favor. The jury found that defendant was not acting as plaintiff's doctor and, as a result, owed her no duty. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the trial court should have directed a verdict in plaintiff's favor on that issue. The Supreme Court allowed defendant's petition for review to consider that issue. Because the Court concluded that the jury could have found that defendant was not acting as plaintiff's doctor, the Court upheld the trial court's ruling denying plaintiff's motion for a directed verdict. The Court also concluded, however, that the trial court erred in instructing the jury and, for that reason, agreed that the case be remanded for a new trial.
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