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Supreme Court of Alabama Affirms a Judgment as a Matter of Law in Favor of a Psychiatrist.
On October 10, 2008, Laura Peck and Joseph Reese received an affirmance from the Supreme Court of Alabama of a judgment as a matter of law in favor of a psychiatrist. In this medical malpractice wrongful death case, the psychiatrist was accused of negligently causing the death of a patient who committed suicide following her discharge from the hospital. After a jury trial, the jury could not reach a verdict and the trial court declared a mistrial. Subsequently, the trial court entered a judgment against the plaintiff finding that the expert testimony was required to establish proximate causation and the plaintiff had failed to offer substantial evidence that the psychiatrist proximately caused the patient's suicide. The Supreme Court of Alabama agreed and rejected the plaintiff's argument that expert testimony was not required to establish proximate causation.
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