Hicks v. United States

A federal hospital doctor misdiagnosed Carol Greitens with gastroenteritis when she actually had a lethal intestinal obstruction, skipping certain questions and examinations customarily performed to check for that condition; Hicks (plaintiff), administrator of Greitens's estate, sued the government (defendant) alleging negligence rather than mere misjudgment. At trial, the government's own expert made only a conclusory claim that the doctor met the standard of care while effectively admitting in substance that he had not, while all of Hicks's experts testified explicitly that the doctor failed to meet the standard of care; the district court nonetheless ruled the misdiagnosis was a mere error of judgment, not negligence, and dismissed the case, prompting Hicks's appeal.