Expert Witness Not Needed for Negligence Claim Based on Patient’s Fall From Table

A plaintiff seeking damages for injuries suffered by her father after he fell off a hospital X-ray table need not present expert witness testimony to prove a hospital’s negligence, a state appeals court held July 8 (Thompson v. Ashland Hospital Corp., Ky. Ct. App., 2010-CA-000801-MR, 7/8/11).

The Kentucky Court of Appeals, in a decision by Judge Janet L. Stumbo, said that plaintiff Beth Thompson’s claim was more akin to a slip-and-fall action than a medical malpractice claim and that a lay jury likely could understand the cause of her father’s fall without expert testimony to explain it. ...