WM. C. HETHERINGTON, JR., Judge.
¶ 1 Teresa M. Tortorelli (Plaintiff) and Robert L. Tortorelli (collectively, Appellants) appeal judgments in favor of IsoTis Orthobiologicals, Inc. (IsoTis), Mercy Health Systems, Inc. (Mercy), Oklahoma Orthopedics, Inc. (Oklahoma Orthopedics) and Dr. Kimberly S. Smith, M.D. (Dr. Smith).
¶ 2 The judgments in favor of IsoTis and Mercy following the grant of their respective motions for summary judgment based upon the learned intermediary doctrine are AFFIRMED. No reversible error is shown or any error is harmless as to other alleged grounds for reversal, and the judgment entered on the jury's verdict in favor of Dr. Smith and Oklahoma Orthopedics accordingly is AFFIRMED.
¶ 3 Plaintiff went to her primary care doctor due to pain in her back and knees. She was referred to an orthopedic clinic, where a doctor took x-rays of her back and right knee. One x-ray showed a tumor in Plaintiff's right leg, and she was referred to Dr. Smith,
¶ 4 On November 8, 2000, Dr. Smith removed the bone tumor from Plaintiff's right tibia during surgery at Mercy Health Center. During the surgery, the following were placed in Plaintiff's right leg: a tibial nail, a bolt (also referred to as a rod), bone cement, and Dynagraft allograft
¶ 5 According to Dr. Smith, she used bone putty because a large area was removed during the tumor removal surgery, which put Plaintiff at risk for a later fracture of her tibia, and the bone putty promotes bone formation across the area of tumor removal. She did not use a bone graft from Plaintiff herself because of concerns about infection at a second surgical site.
¶ 6 Plaintiff had redness and swelling in her right leg following the November 8, 2000 surgery, but she was discharged from Mercy's hospital on Saturday, November 11, 2000, with instructions to change the wound dressing at least once a day, keep the dressing dry, begin showering only after the wound stopped draining, and to contact her doctor if her condition worsened. She developed more swelling and redness throughout her right leg and went to an emergency room at Presbyterian Hospital late in the next evening on Sunday, November 12, 2000. She was released from the emergency room early on Monday November 13, 2000, given antibiotics, advised she had cellulitis,
¶ 7 Plaintiff went to a scheduled Tuesday, November 14, 2000 follow up appointment with Dr. Smith and was re-admitted to Mercy that day. She was treated with high doses of antibiotics, and the swelling and redness began to subside but it did not resolve. Dr. Smith suspected Plaintiff either had a deep infection at the surgical site or a reaction to the bone putty.
¶ 8 On November 22, 2000, Dr. Smith surgically removed all the bone putty, did a radical irrigation of the wound, and debrided the area. Following this surgery, Plaintiff's cellulitis resolved within 48 hours, but she continued to have swelling and redness with resolution over the next few days. Dr. Smith made a postoperative diagnosis of cellulitis with a failure to respond to intravenous antibiotics, which she found consistent with a possible allergic reaction to the bone putty or the bone cement. Plaintiff was discharged on November 26, 2000. Plaintiff contended she continued to have pain and was diagnosed about a month later as having reflex sympathetic dystrophy disease (RSD), also referred to as complex regional pain syndrome, as a result of her reaction to the bone putty. From March 15, 2001 until June 14, 2005, Plaintiff was treated for RSD
¶ 9 Appellants filed suit on November 4, 2002, and filed their Fifth Amended Petition
¶ 10 Initially, Appellants argued Plaintiff had informed Dr. Smith of her allergy to iodine and they based claims for damages upon the use of iodine to clean Plaintiff's skin prior to surgery or in either the preparation of the bone putty or the bone cement. Defendants denied these uses of iodine had occurred. Following discovery, the claims based upon iodine usage were not pursued by Appellants.
¶ 11 In 2008, IsoTis
¶ 12 Appellants argue the judgments entered in favor of IsoTis and Mercy following summary adjudication proceedings require reversal because inadequate warnings rendered the learned intermediary doctrine inapplicable. Mercy and IsoTis claim the judgments were properly granted because they were shielded from liability under the learned intermediary doctrine. Mercy also argued Appellants' "attempt to create sham facts" by their assertion of a new theory of liability in response to IsoTis's motion for summary judgment should be rejected, and it was entitled to judgment.
¶ 13 "When on motion for summary judgment it appears from pleadings, affidavits, depositions, admissions, answers to interrogatories or other instruments properly before the Court that there are no genuine issues as to material facts or that admitted facts justify but a single inference therefrom, it is not error to grant summary judgment." Perry v. Green, 1970 OK 70, ¶ 0, 468 P.2d 483. "On motion for summary judgment there can be no trial of fact issues since its function is to determine whether there are any genuine issues as to material facts. Such motion should therefore be denied if under the evidence reasonable men might reach different conclusions from undisputed facts." Id. ¶ 27, 488-89. (Citation omitted.) All inferences and conclusions to be drawn from the evidentiary materials must be viewed in a light most favorable to Plaintiff. Ross By and Through Ross v. City of Shawnee, 1984 OK 43, 683 P.2d 535.
¶ 14 On review of summary judgments, the appellate court may "substitute its analysis of the record for the trial court's analysis" because the facts are presented in documentary form. Loffland Brothers Company v. Overstreet, 1988 OK 60, ¶ 15, 758 P.2d 813, 817. The appellate court may not weigh evidence, but it may review the evidence presented to determine whether there is a factual dispute. Stuckey v. Young Exploration Company, 1978 OK 128, 586 P.2d 726. Summary judgment
¶ 15 Appellants argued the bone putty was delivered with inadequate warnings which made it a defective product and made IsoTis liable for Plaintiff's injury due to allergic reaction to its product. Appellants claim Mercy also is liable for inadequate warnings, even though it might not have participated in formulating those warnings, because it supplied the bone putty and therefore participated in its chain of distribution.
¶ 16 In Kirkland v. General Motors Corporation, 1974 OK 52, 521 P.2d 1353, the Oklahoma Supreme Court adopted the theory of strict liability in tort set forth in Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 402A (1965). Under this liability theory, one who sells a product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer or to his or her property is liable for physical harm caused by the product if the seller is engaged in the business of selling that product and the product is expected to and does reach the user and consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it is sold.
¶ 17 "The manufacturer of a product has a duty to warn the consumer of potential dangers which may occur from the use of the product when it is known or should be known that hazards exist." McKee v. Moore, 1982 OK 71, ¶ 4, 648 P.2d 21, 23. To recover, a plaintiff must establish both that injury was caused by the product and by a failure to warn of a possible detrimental reaction. Id. ¶ 5, 23-24. "In a strict liability action it is immaterial to the plaintiff's case that the defect in the product was not caused by the distributor. The liability of the manufacturer and distributor is co-extensive, even though the distributor was not responsible for the presence of the defect." Braden v. Hendricks, 1985 OK 14, ¶ 12, 695 P.2d 1343, 1350.
¶ 18 The learned intermediary doctrine is an exception
¶ 19 The burden for plaintiffs is no different than in an ordinary negligence case when the learned intermediary doctrine is applied because the failure to give adequate warnings is what makes a product defective. Lindsay v. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation, 637 F.2d 87 (2nd Cir.1980). Under the learned intermediary doctrine, a manufacturer's liability is directly related to the adequacy of the warning provided, and if the doctor is adequately warned the product is not defective. Id. at 91.
¶ 21 In support of its motion for summary judgment, IsoTis provided an affidavit by Dr. Smith in which she stated she: (1) had used the bone putty on numerous occasions, was aware of its purpose and of contraindications and precautions, (2) "was familiar with received, read, comprehended and understood" the "Directions for Use" insert prior to Plaintiff's surgery, (3) had "reviewed and comprehended" the specific warning that "the possibility of an antigenic reaction is present in any allograft," (4) was "aware and comprehended" the implantation of the bone putty "could create an antigenic reaction in the Plaintiff," (5) had exercised "independent informed judgement" and "independent learning and experience," and, (6) had, "based upon [her] independent informed judgement as a medical doctor" after having "evaluated the potential risks involved, including potential antigenic reactions," concluded the benefits of using the bone putty were appropriate care for Plaintiff. In reply to Plaintiff's response and objection to its motion for summary judgment, IsoTis also cited deposition testimony of Dr. Smith in which she stated she had used bone grafts some 40 to 50 times during her residency, fellowship, and the first two and half years of her practice and described how "antigenic" means a reaction of the body and includes an allergic reaction, because "[a] immune response is considered to be a reaction."
¶ 22 The bone putty insert states "[t]he reaction of the body to any allograft is not completely understood." In opposition to IsoTis's motion for summary judgment, Appellants made a bare allegation IsoTis's warnings are inaccurate and misleading "regarding reactions not being understood." Bare, speculative, and conclusory allegations of possible inadequacies in warnings are insufficient to create a genuine factual issue under the learned intermediary doctrine. See Krasnopolsky v. Warner-Lambert Company, 799 F.Supp. 1342 (E.D.N.Y.1992). "[M]ere contention that facts exist or might exist is not sufficient to withstand summary judgment. The party responding to a motion for summary judgment has an obligation to present something which shows that when the date of trial arrives, he will have some proof to support his allegations." Davis v. Leitner, 1989 OK 146, ¶ 12, 782 P.2d 924, 926. In the absence of evidence contradicting a warning so as to render it false, nothing is presented requiring trial by a jury.
¶ 23 To meet this burden, Appellants offered deposition testimony of biomedical research scientist Tara Tabatabaie (a non-doctor) to the effect that such reactions were understood at a cellular level, and then Appellants posed arguments based upon Dr. Smith's understanding of the meaning of the phrase "not completely understood."
¶ 24 The question whether all potential reactions are "completely understood" poses a red herring. A fact is material for purposes of summary judgment if its proof would have the effect of establishing or refuting one of the essential elements of cause of action. Hadnot v. Shaw, 1992 OK 21, 826 P.2d 978. The Directions for Use for the bone putty contain the warning: "Although the production technique is designed to eliminate antigenic properties of the product, the possibility of such a reaction is present with any allograft."
¶ 25 The material fact at issue was whether the proximate cause of Plaintiff's injury, here an antigenic reaction to the bone putty, was a risk disclosed to Dr. Smith. It was. Judgment in favor of IsoTis based upon the learned intermediary doctrine is not precluded on this basis.
¶ 26 Appellants also argued a "sufficient testing for bone protein and marrow was not performed rendering the product defective and unreasonably dangerous" and Defendants' arguments fail as a matter of law because Dr. Smith did "no independent research or reading." This argument demonstrates a misconception about the learned intermediary doctrine. A major underlying assumption of the learned intermediary doctrine is that a product has properties rendering it dangerous so as to require a doctor's prescription or order for its use. Argument about the particulars of the manufacturing process are not relevant when applying the learned intermediary doctrine. IsoTis's duty as a manufacturer under this doctrine was not to provide an in-depth education to trained physicians in the underlying biochemistry in bone putty production but to identify and warn of risks.
¶ 27 To invoke a defense to liability under the learned intermediary doctrine, a manufacturer seeking its protection must provide sufficient information to the learned intermediary of the risk subsequently shown to be the proximate cause of a plaintiff's injury. Here, IsoTis warned of the risk of an antigenic reaction from using its product, Dr. Smith knew an antigenic risk was possible, she knew of such warnings for bone putty, she considered the risk posed by using the bone putty, she decided it was appropriate to use the bone putty based upon her experience with bone putty and Plaintiff's needs, and the Plaintiff had an antigenic reaction. The judgment in favor of IsoTis premised upon application of the learned intermediary doctrine is AFFIRMED.
¶ 28 Mercy argued it may not be held liable for inadequate warnings if IsoTis's motion for summary judgment is granted because Appellants' claim against it is dependent upon their claim the bone putty lacked proper warnings.
¶ 29 Appellants raised a new theory for Mercy's liability in response to its motion for summary judgment, claiming negligence in the discharge of Plaintiff following the tumor removal surgery. Mercy argued Appellants were attempting to create sham facts through the affidavit. Mercy argued neither negligent discharge nor informed consent issues were stated in any of Appellants' petitions, including the most recent, a fifth amended petition. More importantly, it argued, during the deposition of Appellants' medical expert Dr. Henry Hug conducted just a week previously, though questioned specifically about his criticisms of Smith and Mercy, he voiced none based on standard of care.
¶ 30 When determining whether an affidavit may be disregarded because it attempts to create a sham issue of fact, the Court may consider whether the party was cross-examined during earlier testimony, whether the party had access to the evidence at the time of earlier testimony or whether the affidavit was based on newly discovered evidence, and whether the earlier testimony reflects confusion which the affidavit attempts to explain. Ishmael v. Andrew, 2006 OK CIV APP 82, ¶ 16, 137 P.3d 1271, 1276. A trial court may disregard an affidavit purporting to create an issue of fact by directly contradicting prior deposition testimony during which the deponent was both cross-examined and had access to the information forming the basis for the affidavit at the time of the deposition. Savage v. Burton, 2005 OK CIV APP 106, 125 P.3d 1249. Such is the case here. Dr. Hug's 2002 report states he reviewed Plaintiff's medical records. Those medical records contain the same information about the condition of her leg which Plaintiff raised at deposition and upon which he based his premature discharge standard of care criticisms due to premature discharge after the tumor removal surgery. The trial court did not err in concluding no material fact was presented, and rejecting the affidavit. The order granting Mercy's motion for summary judgment is AFFIRMED.
¶ 31 Appellants argue the trial court erred by denying their May 8, 2008 "motion to amend petition by stating specific negligent actions by stating them in the pre-trial order," and by denying them a continuance to allow additional discovery. As before, Appellants claim they should have been allowed to amend their petition to state claims based upon negligence in the standard of care due to premature discharge following the tumor removal surgery because they only discovered the basis for amendment after their expert, Dr. Hug, read
¶ 32 "[T]he trial court has always possessed discretion over whether to allow an amendment to a pleading" subject to 12 O.S.2001 § 2015(A)'s requirement "that leave to amend be given freely if justice requires." Prough v. Edinger, Inc., 1993 OK 130, ¶ 8, 862 P.2d 71, 73. Whether to permit an amendment of the pleadings is left to the discretion of the trial court. Andersen v. Fellers, 1998 OK CIV APP 53, ¶ 15, 960 P.2d 851, 855.
¶ 33 A trial court's decision to deny a motion to amend will not be overturned, however, absent a showing of abuse of the court's discretion under the circumstances. Prough, 1993 OK 130, ¶ 8, 862 P.2d at 73. A trial court acts within its discretion when a justifying reason exists to deny a request. McDermott v. Sentry Life Ins. Co., Inc., 2000 OK CIV APP 115, ¶ 27, 15 P.3d 508, 516. "Some of the factors to consider in evaluating whether a time delay is undue are: 1) the number of previous amendment requests; 2) the timing of the request (before or after discovery is closed and a trial date set); and 3) the length of time the movant was aware of the applicability of the amendment." Prough, 1993 OK 130, ¶ 10, 862 P.2d at 73.
¶ 34 When determining whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying Appellants' motion to amend, we consider the particular facts and circumstances of this case. According to Dr. Hug's September 9, 2002 Report, he reviewed Plaintiff's records from Mercy, the emergency room, x-rays, physical therapy, and office visits with treating doctors. Mercy's records include descriptions of Plaintiff's leg on the day of her first discharge and the identities of Mercy employees, including the resident who facilitated her
¶ 35 Dr. Hug had no criticisms based upon standard of care when he was deposed on April 15, 2008. According to Appellants, Dr. Hug read Plaintiff's 2003 deposition testimony only after that deposition. Dr. Hug was deposed again on May 14, 2008, and questioned about Plaintiff's discharge following the first surgery. He was critical of the discharge because "from the medical records it would appear that there was some inflammation and drainage from the incision."
¶ 36 At a May 16, 2008 hearing on the motion to amend and motions in limine, Defendant pointed out that all the names of Mercy personnel claimed to have prematurely discharged Plaintiff were in the medical records provided to Dr. Hug before his 2002 report, this information had been in Appellants' possession during the six years Dr. Hug had been involved in the case, and Dr. Hug did not raise a standard of care issue in any of three written reports he wrote prior to his May 8, 2008 affidavit. Defendants argued Appellants had failed to conduct a diligent investigation about information in their possession and motion to amend only 11 days before scheduled trial would prejudice their clients.
¶ 37 "[A] trial court acts within its discretion if a justifying reason exists for the denial of the movant's request." McDermott v. Sentry Life Insurance Company., Inc. 2000 OK CIV APP 115, ¶ 28, 15 P.3d 508, 516. Like the Court in McDermott, we find relevant the observation "[a]lthough ... leave to amend shall be freely granted, a party must act with due diligence if it intends to take advantage of the Rule's liberality." U.S. v. Midwest Suspension and Brake, 49 F.3d 1197, 1202 (6th Cir.1995). Diligence was lacking here.
¶ 38 The trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying Appellants' motion to amend given the records in their possession for more than six years and that the motion was filed after discovery had closed and just eleven days before trial was scheduled. Consequently, the trial court also did not abuse its discretion in denying a continuance to allow additional discovery.
¶ 39 Appellants claim the trial court "erred as a matter of law" in allowing certain evidence and in refusing to allow certain evidence, in allowing argument during Defendants' opening statement, and in the use of various exhibits. We address these allegations in turn.
¶ 40 Evidentiary rulings by the trial court regarding relevance and admissibility are addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court, whose rulings thereon will not be disturbed absent a showing of abuse of discretion. American National Bank & Trust Company of Sapulpa v. BIC Corporation, 1994 OK CIV APP 70, 880 P.2d 420. "Decisions regarding relevance of evidence and its alleged prejudice to the other party will not be overturned absent an abuse of discretion." Mills v. Grotheer, 1998 OK 33, ¶ 3, 957 P.2d 540, 541. "A judgment will not be reversed for error in the rejection of evidence unless it appears from an examination
¶ 41 Appellants argue it was error to exclude testimony by Robert Tortorelli that RSD was the reason Plaintiff received physical therapy and to prevent him from testifying about the reasons she had incurred certain other medical bills.
¶ 42 Appellants claim the trial court erred by allowing Defendants to use a blow up of a portion of testimony as an aid during opening statements and this error caused prejudice and reversible error. The trial court allowed the use as a demonstrative aid to Defendants' description of anticipated testimony. The testimony in the blow up is part of the recorded testimony of Plaintiff's treating physician Dr. Scott Mitchell which was later presented to the jury as part of their own case in chief. Appellants do not articulate how they were prejudiced by testimony from their own witness other than to complain they needed to move for the admission of one of their own exhibits prior to allowing the jury to view it when they used it to question Plaintiff. Requiring a party to follow proper procedure by laying a foundation for a document offered as part of proof in their case in chief and moving for its admission into evidence prior to allowing a jury to view it does not present reversible error.
¶ 43 They also claim there was reversible error due to the injection of argument during Defendants' opening statement. Based upon the record citations for these alleged errors, the offending statements were, "Please don't leave your common sense at the door when you come into this courtroom and decide the issues," "Now, Dr. Smith and I trust you to lay sympathy aside. I anticipate there will be tears in this courtroom," and, "We ask you to lay all sympathy aside, judge the facts as you see them from the witness chair." Appellants' objections to the first and third statements were sustained, and their objection to the second statement was overruled. Appellants did not request any admonishments or other corrective action by the trial court following its rulings.
¶ 44 Counsel have wide latitude in both opening statements and closing arguments, subject to the trial court's control. Lerma v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2006 OK 84, 148 P.3d 880. There must be a showing counsel's conduct substantially influenced the
¶ 45 Similarly, no reversible error is presented by the trial court's refusal, following an objection by Defendants, to allow Plaintiff's friend, Sherry Henley, to read a nurse's note from her first hospitalization to the jury. Henley reviewed the record only after her deposition and the only reason given for allowing her to read the note was the alleged use of notations familiar to nurses. Although she was a registered nurse, Henley appeared as a fact witness who had seen Plaintiff only during her second hospitalization. She was not qualified as an expert, and was never a Mercy employee. Further, the medical records containing the nurses' notes were not yet admitted into evidence at the time Appellants asked Henley to read them aloud to the jury. In support of this allegation of error, Appellants cite 12 O.S.2001 § 2401 and § 2402, which address the relevancy of evidence. That was not the issue regarding the nurses' notes. Like with the testimony of Robert Tortorelli, the record was subject to a stipulation as to identification, but such a stipulation is not a waiver of the need to establish a proper foundation for admissibility or to move for admission of evidence prior to publishing it to a jury.
¶ 46 Appellants argue it was error to exclude from evidence the video deposition testimony of Jocelyn Nguyen, an IsoTis research associate, and the further use of the same video deposition to rebut Dr. Smith's testimony.
¶ 47 Appellants argue medical records of Dr. Barney Blue
¶ 48 Prior inconsistent statements of a record may be used for impeachment of testimony given at trial, 12 O.S.Supp.2002 § 2613, and records may be used to refresh a witness's memory on matters relating to direct testimony upon cross-examination, 12 O.S.Supp.2002 § 2612. That is what occurred here. After laying a foundation, Defendants' counsel asked Plaintiff about Dr. Blue's June 18, 1999 medical record listing complaints of fatigue, swollen feet and body,
¶ 49 Appellants claim reversible error in the refusal to allow a wider range of testimony within the expertise of research scientist Tara Tabatabaie,
¶ 50 Appellants argue the trial court allowed "rank hearsay" by Dr. Smith about bone putty manufacturing, a process it was not shown she had observed. Dr. Smith was asked for her "understanding" about how bone putty is manufactured and testified in response how "[t]he overall process, I understand, is they harvest bone steriley from cadaver bone that is then steriley processed down to the bone proteins only" into "basically a liquid or powder form" which is reconstituted into sheets or a matrix for use by surgeons like herself. Appellants did not object based upon hearsay but instead objected that she was "not qualified" to answer the question. This objection goes to witness competency. Reversal may not be obtained based on arguments and issues raised for the first time on appeal. Kepler v. Strain, 1978 OK 52, 579 P.2d 191.
¶ 51 Appellants argue it was error to exclude affidavits signed by Dr. Smith which were attachments to motions for summary judgment by IsoTis and Mercy, citing 12 O.S.Supp.2002 § 2613. At trial, they argued the affidavits were admissible as prior inconsistent statements by Dr. Smith.
¶ 52 The criteria for the admission of prior inconsistent statements to attack the veracity or credibility of a witness are governed by the 12 O.S.Supp.2002 § 2607 and § 2613. Before allowing evidence of a witness's prior inconsistent statements, the trial court "must satisfy itself that the proffered testimony is sufficiently inharmonious with the declarant's in-court testimony and is relevant to a non-collateral matter. A proper foundation must be laid before the extrinsic impeachment evidence may be admitted." Crussel v. Kirk, 1995 OK 41, ¶ 8, 894 P.2d 1116, 1119. (Emphasis in original; footnotes omitted.)
¶ 53 Here, Appellants cross-examined Dr. Smith about alleged inconsistencies between
¶ 54 Appellants argue the trial court erred as a matter of law in overruling their motion for a directed verdict made at the end of trial. Defendants argue denial of the motion was proper because the record contained evidence in their favor.
¶ 55 "We review the denial of a motion for directed verdict de novo." Computer Publications, Inc. v. Welton, 2002 OK 50, ¶ 12, 49 P.3d 732, 735. As taught in Messler v. Simmons Gun Specialties, Inc., 1984 OK 35, ¶ 28, 687 P.2d 121, 130:
¶ 56 "`Informed consent,' as it was adopted in Scott v. Bradford, [1979 OK 165], 606 P.2d 554 (Okla.1980), entails three basic elements: 1) nondisclosure, 2) causation, and 3) injury." Smith v. Karen S. Reisig, M.D., Inc., 1984 OK 56, 686 P.2d 285, 288. "However, a physician has no duty to inform a patient of risks known by the patient." Goss v. Oklahoma Blood Institute, 1990 OK CIV APP 14, ¶ 28, 856 P.2d 998, 1007 (citing Spencer By and Through Spencer v. Seikel, 1987 OK 75, ¶ 12, 742 P.2d 1126, 1129).
¶ 57 Dr. Mitchell, who treated Plaintiff for RSD, testified he did some research on the syndrome and from it concluded the most likely cause of Plaintiff's RSD was the bone tumor itself. Plaintiff agreed that she knew allergic reactions were possible and gave Dr. Smith information about her own allergic reactions to iodine and penicillin. Appellants' adult son testified in their case in chief that he heard Dr. Smith say, prior to the first surgery, "we're going to remove this, and we're going to put in this paste." This evidence could be considered as evidence in defense of elements Appellants were required to prove and as supporting judgment for Defendants. There was not an "absence of proof" in Defendants' favor, and it was for the jury to decide whether Appellants met their burden of proving all necessary elements for their cause of action.
¶ 58 Appellants argue the trial court erred because, although it instructed the jury on the issue of informed consent, by instructing the jury on the issue of negligence the issue of informed consent was essentially removed from the jury's consideration. Appellants not only did not object to the negligence instructions, they proposed these same instructions given the jury.
¶ 59 Appellants also argue "in view of the evidence produced at trial of previous medical problems, the Court should have also given OUJI 4.10 on Aggravation of Pre-Existing Conditions." The case was not pled or tried as a case for aggravation of a pre-existing condition and Appellants did not request such an instruction. "[B]y the standard announced in Woodall [v. Chandler Material
¶ 60 Appellants further allege error in the trial court's failure to adopt their Requested Instruction No. 1. This proposed instruction included allegations about the claims Plaintiff sought to add via the motion to amend the pleadings and gave Appellants' version of the case issues. In arguing "[t]he trial Court failed to even apprise the jury of the issues they were to try by refusing Plaintiff's (sic) Requested Jury Instruction No. 1," Appellants overstate the duty of the trial court. The trial court has a "duty to instruct on the fundamental issues of a case," however "[i]n giving instructions, the trial court is not required to frame issues, but it must state the law correctly." Smicklas v. Spitz, 1992 OK 145, ¶ 11, 846 P.2d 362, 367. The proposed instruction would have served to confuse and mislead the jury about the issues in the case and it was properly rejected.
¶ 61 Appellants also claim it was error not to give requested instructions on Plaintiff's "mental pain and suffering, past and future," on her "loss of time," and "loss of enjoyment of life" as elements in fixing her damages. The jury could not have been mislead by not being instructed in these elements for setting damages in light of the verdict in favor of Defendants. Any error was harmless.
¶ 62 No reversible error has been shown with respect to the trial court's determinations regarding admissibility or inadmissibility of evidence or testimony, the application of the learned intermediary doctrine, instruction of the jury, or the denial of Appellants' eleventh-hour motion to amend the pleadings. The judgment entered on the jury's verdict in favor of Defendants is AFFIRMED.
BUETTNER, P.J., and HANSEN, J., concur.
Dr. Hug's only standard of care "criticism" of Mercy at that time was a speculation, based upon his own experiences prior to retiring from his thoracic and vascular surgery clinical practice in 1987, that some surgeon who may have been associated with Mercy might have recommended the bone putty to Smith. When asked if, other than this "potential criticism," he had "no other criticisms whatsoever of Mercy Hospital and its employees or agents; correct?" He replied, "Correct."