Personal Injury Law

Missouri Medical Negligence Law: Impeachment of a Defendant Doctor on a Collateral Issue not Material to Substantive Issues of Case

By Benjamin J. Sansone, Esq.

The Missouri Supreme Court in Mitchell v. Kardesch, reversed a decision this past June based on the trial court's failure to admit impeachment evidence against the negligent doctor on a matter that was collateral to the substantive issues of the case.

A woman and her children filed a Missouri medical negligence and Missouri wrongful death law suit, on behalf of her husband, against his internist alleging that the doctor deviated from the standard of care. A central issue to the case was the Plaintiff's claim the decedent called with complaints of chest pain and was not told to go to the ER, the Defendant doctor and his nurse assistant claimed they did tell him to, however, they had no specific memory of it.

During the trial it was brought forth that the doctor had lied on an interrogatory answer by denying that his medical license had been suspended or revoked. He admitted later in his deposition that it had been suspended. The trial court would not allow the Missouri wrongful death lawyer to impeach the doctor on this lie.

The jury returned a verdict on behalf of the doctor. But the Missouri Supreme Court reversed this decision based on previous decisions stating in part that the credibility of a witness is vital in any lawsuit.

Since this case, parties are permitted, with limited ability, to use extrinsic evidence of prior conduct involving a witness's character for truth and veracity following the trial court's determination "whether admission of the extrinsic evidence would be more probative or more prejudicial." See State v Allison.

Full post as published by Missouri Injury Law Blog on November 22, 2010 (boomark / email).