Greene v. Durrani

Citations

• 2023 Ohio 3069

Syllabus

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE – LICENSE REVOCATIONS – EVID.R. 403 – EVID.R. 404 – EVID.R. 608 –RELEVANCE – ABUSE OF DISCRETION – HARMLESS ERROR: Where evidence concerning defendant doctor's medical license revocations and privileges suspensions was not connected to the surgery performed on plaintiff, did not further plaintiff's theory of the case, and was introduced without context, the prejudice resulting from the admission of the evidence outweighed its scant probative value. Where evidence concerning other lawsuits filed against defendant doctor, including a dismissed misdemeanor assault charge, medical-malpractice lawsuits, and a lawsuit seeking unpaid legal fees, was introduced without context and was not connected to the surgery performed on plaintiff, the evidence was not admissible under Evid.R. 404(B) and its limited probative value was far outweighed by its prejudicial impact. The trial court abused its discretion in failing to grant defendants' motion for a new trial where the trial court's admission of evidence concerning defendant doctor's medical license revocations and privileges suspensions and other lawsuits filed against defendant doctor within the context of a depositional collage, that was in no way related to defendant doctor's care and treatment of plaintiff, was not harmless.