Washington v. Washington Hospital Center
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
579 A.2d 177 (1990)
During routine surgery under general anesthesia at Washington Hospital Center (defendant), a misplaced endotracheal tube deprived patient Thompson (plaintiff, through representatives) of oxygen, leaving her in a persistent vegetative state; her representatives sued, claiming the hospital failed to provide an oxygen-monitoring device that could have caught the problem earlier, and their expert testified an emerging national trend favored such monitors while the hospital's own expert testified there was no established national standard requiring them at the time. A jury found for Thompson, and the hospital's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict was denied and appealed.
Whether a medical malpractice plaintiff must present expert testimony establishing that the defendant deviated from a national standard of care, to avoid a jury verdict based on speculation or conjecture.