The Plaintiff was treated by the doctor in follow-up for a fracture of the forearm. The Plaintiff alleged that the fracture was further displaced after being placed in a short-arm cast, which ultimately necessitated open-reduction surgery, an osteotomy and re-setting of the fracture fragments.

The defense established that the length of the cast was irrelevant in the outcome of Plaintiff’s injuries.  It was the Plaintiff’s repeated non-compliance and failure to follow the doctor’s orders, which caused and/or contributed to her injuries.

After a 3-day trial, the jury deliberated for approximately 20 minutes before returning a complete defense verdict, awarding nothing to the Plaintiff. An interesting aspect of the trial arose during deliberations when a question was posed by a jury member which read: “If [the doctor] is found not guilty, can we award him anything for loss wages or pain & suffering?” Needless to say, the question went unanswered. Click here to view juror note.