Can a doctor who has only practiced in a large hospital testify as to the standard of care in a much smaller hospital?
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The North Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to review a lower appellate court ruling which barred the testimony of an Arizona doctor about the standard of care applicable to a small hospital in Goldsboro, North Carolina. The reason for the exclusion was that the witness had only practiced in larger hospitals.
In the North Carolina Court of Appeals decision the Court found that the plaintiff's expert was not familiar with a community similar to that of the Goldsboro, N. C. hospital. The Court reasoned that since the testifying doctor had only practiced at larger hospitals in Phoenix, Arizona, he would not be in a position to know the applicable standards regarding the skills of Goldsboro doctors, their training, the facilities available to them, the equipment and funding and the physical and financial of the hospital's medical community. Consequently, this doctor was not qualified to testify as to the appropriate standard of care recognized and practiced in Goldsboro, North Carolina.
Because this Arizona doctor was the patient's only standard of care witness, the case was dismissed.
This case is the latest chapter in the ongoing battle between plaintiff's and defense lawyers concerning the requirements for a witness to testify about the appropriate standard if care.
North Carolina applies the "same of similar community" standard of care. The "national" standard of care has been expressly rejected by North Carolina's appellate courts many times. The many cases in which plaintiff's lawyers have attempted to have their witnesses satisfy North Carolina's antiquated "same or similar community" standard have led to many inconsistent appellate decisions in North Carolina.
It is hoped that the Supreme Court of North Carolina will after their review of this case issue an opinion which will pull North Carolina out of the dark ages on this issue. It is time that North Carolina appellate courts recognize what is obvious to everyone else in North Carolina: That the medical standard of care in North Carolina is at least as high as those standards practiced in Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago or anywhere else in the Country. Yes, even as high as that practiced in Phoenix, Arizona.
For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.