Virginia McGee, Individually; and Leroy Mitchell, as Conservator over the Estate of Virginia McGee v. River Region Medical Center, et al.

Summary

The Mississippi Supreme Court reviewed a medical-malpractice action involving an intravenous infiltration and burns suffered by Virginia McGee at River Region Medical Center. The court held that the trial judge improperly excluded the plaintiff’s nursing expert’s testimony and directed a verdict for the hospital. It also held that the full medical bill could be admitted into evidence, although amounts written off by the defendant hospital could not be recovered as damages, and it reversed and remanded for a new trial.

Holdings

1. The trial court erred by prematurely striking Dr. Beare's testimony and granting River Region's motion for a directed verdict. A qualified expert who has testified that she is familiar with the applicable standard of care should be permitted to articulate her opinion about whether that standard was breached.
2. The trial court erred to the extent it prohibited McGee from introducing her entire River Region medical bill merely because she could not recover the written-off portion as damages. The entire bill could be relevant to the seriousness and extent of her injuries.
3. McGee could not recover as damages the portion of the River Region bill that River Region itself had written off. The collateral-source rule did not apply because River Region was both the medical provider to whom the bill was owed and the alleged tortfeasor, and no collateral source had paid the written-off amount.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court improperly excluded McGee's qualified nursing expert from testifying about the applicable standard of care and then granted River Region a directed verdict.
2. Whether the trial court erred by excluding McGee's entire River Region medical bill from evidence because River Region had written off part of the bill.
3. Whether McGee could recover as damages the portion of the River Region bill that River Region had written off.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded