Simon v. Drake
Annotate this CaseAppellant sued Doctor for medical malpractice. After a jury trial, the district court ruled in favor of Doctor. During trial, the court permitted Doctor to question one of Appellant's treating physicians about his opinion of Doctor's performance in treating Appellant for hip pain even though neither party had designated the treating physician as an expert. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that the trial court erroneously admitted the disputed testimony about the standard of care but that the error was harmless because the parties' designated experts provided similar evidence. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the trial court's ruling denied Appellant any opportunity to challenge the presumptive validity and weight that a jury would have given to Appellant's own treating physician testifying as an expert against him; and (2) therefore, the error was prejudicial. Remanded for a new trial.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.