The American Medical Association (AMA) has written an amicus brief backing the proper testimony in court to support causation in medical malpractice claims.
The brief comes after a plaintiff in a case before Washington state's Supreme Court brought in a medical expert to testify who didn't meet the requirements for determining causation.
According to a news release from the AMA Wire, the case, Frausto v. Yakima HMA, will head to the U.S. Supreme Court on appeal.
A lower court ruled that the advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP) who the plaintiff, Rudy Frausto, had an affidavit from, could testify that he developed decubitus ulcers after being admitted to Yakima Regional Medical Center for 10 days to treat symptoms of general body weakness, influenza and pneumonia. The ARNP, Karen Wilkinson, said in the affidavit that the hospital failed to provide the plaintiff with proper bedding, skin assessments and other care, which resulted in the development of the bed sores.
The trial court said that even though Wilkinson practiced as a licensed nurse for more than 26 years and had taught other nurses, she was only qualified to testify to the standard of care at the hospital but not about medical causation.
“The ability to testify accurately regarding causation is dependent upon the ability to render a medical diagnosis identifying the etiology of a condition or injury,” the Litigation Center of the AMA and several other medical societies argue in the amicus brief.
