Wynne v. Harvey

Citations

• 96 Wash. 379
• 165 P. 67

Syllabus

<p>Physicians and' Surgeons — Malpractice—Liability of Assistant —Evidence—Sufficiency. The evidence is insufficient to establish the negligence of an assistant physician in failing to remove a sponge from an incision during an operation, where he was not directed to keep track of the sponges and the only evidence that he had anything to do with them was the testimony of a witness that he had mopped with a sponge, immediately afterwards modified by the statement of the witness that he did not remember whether he had done any mopping or not.</p> <p>Same — Malpractice—Negligence—Question for Jury. In an action against a physician for negligence in using silk thread in tying off arteries, the question is for the jury, and there is no material variance, where it appears that No. 12 silk thread was discharged from the wound, and the defendant claimed that silk thread was properly used to suture a ruptured intestine, but, according to experts, No. 12 was too large for any purpose.</p> <p>Same — Negligence—Evidence—Competency—Question for Jury. In an action for malpractice, a patient who is a layman is competent to testify as to such commonplace conditions and effects as the time of the changing of dressings, the presence of pus, sterilization of drainage tubes, etc., concerning which a layman is possessed of common knowledge, and which are questions of fact, making the question of negligence one for the jury.</p> <p>Same — Negligence—Failure to Remove Sponge — Evidence — Sufficiency. Negligence of a physician in failing to remove a sponge from an incision is not excused, as a matter of law, because the patient was failing and it was necessary to sew up the wound without delay to save life, where there was no evidence that the sponges were counted, and defendant testified that he would have removed it if he had known that there was another sponge in the incision.</p> <p>Same. The failure of a physician to remove a sponge from an incision is sufficiently shown to have been