Hall v. Hilbun

Dr. Hilbun (defendant), a general surgeon, performed exploratory surgery on Terry Hall (plaintiff's decedent) for abdominal pain, then left the hospital for the evening while Hall's vital signs were stable. Overnight, Hall repeatedly complained of abdominal pain to nursing staff, but neither the nurses nor Hilbun followed up, and by the time Hilbun was called back the next morning, Hall had died; autopsy revealed a surgical sponge left in her abdomen, though it hadn't caused death. Hall's husband sued for malpractice, alleging Hilbun failed to arrange for proper post-operative monitoring, and called an expert witness, Dr. Hoerr, to establish a national standard of care requiring surgeons to "follow the patient" for complications after surgery; the trial court excluded Hoerr's testimony because he wasn't familiar with the local standard of care, and directed a verdict for Hilbun.