[Cite as Bowerman v. Taylor,
2019-Ohio-511.]
STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
)ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
COUNTY OF SUMMIT )
RODNEY BOWERMAN, et al. C.A. No. 28785
Appellants/Cross-Appelleees
v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT
ENTERED IN THE
WILLIAM K. TAYLOR, M.D., et al. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO
Appellees CASE No. CV-2016-03-1453
and
SUMMA HEALTH SYSTEM dba AKRON
CITY HOSPITAL
Appellee/Cross-Appellant
DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY
Dated: February 13, 2019
HENSAL, Judge.
{¶1} Rodney and Hilary Bowerman appeal an entry of judgment for William K.
Taylor, M.D., Akron Radiology, Inc., and Summa Health System in the Summit County Court of
Common Pleas. They also appeal an order that denied their motion for judgment
notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial. Summa has filed a conditional
cross-appeal. For the following reasons, this Court affirms.
I.
{¶2} After Mr. Bowerman reported having back pain, his primary-care physician sent
him to the emergency room at Akron City Hospital, which is owned by Summa. At the hospital,
Mr. Bowerman underwent a cervical and thoracic MRI without contrast, which Dr. Taylor, a
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radiologist, read. Dr. Taylor saw an abnormality in the MRI, but he did not include it in his
report because he thought it was simply edema caused by the length of time that Mr. Bowerman
was laying down during the test. He, therefore, wrote that the MRI was negative, except for a
slight issue with one of Mr. Bowerman’s discs. Accordingly, the emergency room physicians
prescribed Mr. Bowerman pain medication and sent him home. Several days later, however, Mr.
Bowerman’s condition worsened and he began experiencing neurological deficits. He returned
to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a spinal epidural abscess. By the time a surgeon
removed the abscess, Mr. Bowerman had suffered permanent neurological damage.
{¶3} The Bowermans sued Dr. Taylor, Dr. Taylor’s employer, and Summa, alleging
negligence. A jury found, however, that Dr. Taylor’s conduct was not negligent. The trial court,
therefore, entered judgment for him, his employer, and Summa. Following trial, the Bowermans
moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial. The trial
court denied their motions. The Bowermans have appealed, assigning two errors. Summa has
filed a conditional cross-appeal.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR I
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY FAILING TO GRANT JUDGMENT
NOTWITHSTANDING THE VERDICT
{¶4} The Bowermans argue that the trial court incorrectly denied their motion for
judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Under Civil Rule 50(B), after the jury’s verdict is entered
in the trial court’s judgment, the losing party may move to have the judgment set aside.
Judgment notwithstanding the verdict pursuant to Civil Rule 50(B) “is proper if upon viewing
the evidence in a light most favorable to the non-moving party and presuming any doubt to favor
the nonmoving party reasonable minds could come to but one conclusion, that being in favor of
the moving party.” Williams v. Spitzer Auto World, Inc., 9th Dist. Lorain No. 07CA009098,
3
2008-Ohio-1467, ¶ 9. If, however, “there is substantial evidence to support [the non-moving
party’s] side of the case, upon which reasonable minds may reach different conclusions, the
motion [for judgment notwithstanding the verdict] must be denied.” Jackovic v. Webb, 9th Dist.
Summit No. 26555,
2013-Ohio-2520, ¶ 15, quoting Osler v. City of Lorain,
28 Ohio St.3d 345,
347 (1986). When considering a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, a court must
consider neither the weight of the evidence nor the credibility of the witnesses. Osler at syllabus.
We review a trial court’s ruling on a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict de novo.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co.,
95 Ohio St.3d 512, 2002–Ohio–2842, ¶
4.
{¶5} The Bowermans argue that they were entitled to judgment notwithstanding the
verdict because the trial court allowed Dr. Taylor to present evidence that Mr. Bowerman was
contributorily negligent. In particular, they argue that Dr. Taylor improperly presented evidence
that Mr. Bowerman had been noncompliant in caring for his diabetes condition. According to
the Bowermans, people with uncontrolled diabetes are at a greater risk of infection and have a
greater risk that antibiotics will not work against an infection. The evidence of Mr. Bowerman’s
noncompliance, therefore, allowed the jury to infer that he was responsible for the abscess. The
Bowermans argue that, “[w]ithout evidence that [Mr. Bowerman] was responsible for his
infection and injuries, the jury would have concluded that Dr. Taylor’s failure to meet the
standard of care proximately caused [his] injuries.”
{¶6} We note that, contrary to the Bowermans’ argument, the jury found that Dr.
Taylor was not negligent. The court had instructed the jury that it must find Dr. Taylor negligent
if he “failed to meet [the] standard of care[.]” The jury did not reach the issue of whether it was
Dr. Taylor’s actions or something else that caused Mr. Bowerman’s injuries. This Court’s
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review of the Bowermans’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, therefore, is limited
to whether there was substantial evidence in the record to support the jury’s standard-of-care
finding.
{¶7} Dr. Taylor testified that he is an expert in radiology. He admitted that he saw an
area of high signal while reading the MRI of Mr. Bowerman’s thoracic spine. He explained,
however, that fluid accumulates in the back while patients are undergoing an MRI scan and that
it was the sort of thing he sees all the time. He, therefore, discounted it as unimportant even
though it was obvious. Dr. Taylor testified that he did not mention the area of high signal in his
report because he tries to keep them as succinct as possible for the emergency room doctors.
{¶8} Dr. Steven Deutch also testified as an expert in radiology on behalf of Dr. Taylor.
He said that he had reviewed the same MRI as Dr. Taylor, with only the knowledge that Mr.
Bowerman was an emergency room patient with back pain. According to Dr. Deutch, he also
did not see a clinically significant abnormality on his first reading of the MRI. Dr. Deutch
testified that there was nothing markedly significant and that the only abnormalities he noted
were a couple of mild disk bulges in Mr. Bowerman’s cervical spine and a moderate disk bulge
in his thoracic spine. Dr. Deutch opined that, based on the exams and patient history that had
been provided to Dr. Taylor at the time Dr. Taylor read Mr. Bowerman’s MRI, Dr. Taylor met
the standard of care.
{¶9} Upon review of Dr. Taylor’s and Dr. Deutch’s testimony, we conclude that there
is substantial evidence in the record to support the jury’s finding that Dr. Taylor did not breach
the standard of care. Accordingly, even though the Bowermans presented multiple witnesses
who opined that Dr. Taylor’s review of the MRI was below the standard of care, we conclude
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that the trial court correctly denied their motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. See
Osler, 28 Ohio St.3d, at 349-350. The Bowermans’ first assignment of error is overruled.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR II
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW BY FAILING TO
GRANT A NEW TRIAL[.]
{¶10} The Bowermans also argue that the trial court incorrectly denied their motion for
new trial under Civil Rule 59(A)(9). That rule provides that “[a] new trial may be granted …
upon any of the following grounds: … [e]rror of law occurring at the trial and brought to the
attention of the trial court by the party making the application.” “This Court reviews a motion
for new trial that is made on the basis that the trial court made an error of law de novo.”
Jackovic, 9th Dist. Summit No. 26555, 2013-Ohio-2520, at ¶ 19.
{¶11} The Bowermans argue that the trial court incorrectly allowed the jury to hear
testimony that Mr. Bowerman’s noncompliance with his diabetes treatment and a prior lung
infection caused or contributed to his spinal epidural abscess. They argue that this testimony
implied that Mr. Bowerman was contributorily negligent even though that was not an issue in the
case. They also argue that the evidence unduly prejudiced their case. They contend that Dr.
Taylor and his employer examined Mr. Bowerman extensively about his efforts to maintain
control of his diabetes over the years and made its uncontrolled nature a focal point of their
opening statement and closing argument.
{¶12} In addition to proving that Dr. Taylor’s reading of the MRI was below the
standard of care, the Bowermans also had to prove that his alleged malpractice was a proximate
cause of Mr. Bowerman’s neurological deficits. The Bowermans presented evidence that the
area of high signal that Dr. Taylor failed to describe in his MRI report was actually an infection
that spread into Mr. Bowerman’s spine, which was adjacent to it. They also presented evidence
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that, if Mr. Bowerman had begun treatment for the infection on July 29, the infection would not
have spread and created the abscess. In defense of the Bowermans’ proximate cause argument,
Dr. Taylor and his employer introduced evidence through cross-examination of the Bowermans’
witnesses that patients with uncontrolled diabetes have a greater risk of infection. It was their
theory that the area of high signal was not an infection, but that the infection actually spread to
Mr. Bowerman’s spine from a different location. They also introduced evidence that patients
with uncontrolled diabetes have a reduced ability to heal, which was an attempt to establish that,
even if Mr. Bowerman had received treatment on July 29, it may not have stopped the spread of
the infection. In support of their argument, they pointed to a previous infection that Mr.
Bowerman had experienced in which he had required surgery after treatment with antibiotics was
ineffective.
{¶13} Upon review of the record, we conclude that the evidence that Mr. Bowerman had
Type I diabetes that was uncontrolled at the time of the MRI was relevant as to whether Dr.
Taylor’s alleged malpractice was a proximate cause of Mr. Bowerman’s neurological deficits.
See Evid.R. 402 (“All relevant evidence is admissible ….”). Accordingly, the trial court’s
admission of that evidence was not an error of law on which the court could grant the
Bowermans’ motion for new trial.
{¶14} Regarding noncompliance, the Bowermans point to passages in Dr. Taylor’s and
his employer’s opening statement and closing argument where their attorney argued that Mr.
Bowerman’s diabetes was uncontrolled. Statements of counsel, however, do not qualify as
evidence. Greathouse v. Hilliard, 9th Dist. Summit No. 28265, 2017-Ohio-2636, ¶ 8. In
addition, an argument that Mr. Bowerman’s diabetes was uncontrolled is not the same as an
argument that Mr. Bowerman was noncompliant with his treatment. Mr. Bowerman testified on
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direct examination that his blood sugar level is sometimes abnormal even when he is doing
everything he can to take care of his condition. The Bowermans have not directed this Court to
any place in the record where Dr. Taylor and his employer presented evidence that Mr.
Bowerman failed to comply with his diabetes treatment. We, therefore, conclude that they have
not demonstrated that the trial court made an error of law on which it could grant a new trial.
{¶15} The Bowermans next argue that the trial court incorrectly refused to provide a
jury instruction on contributory negligence. They argue that, because the trial court allowed the
jury to hear evidence that Mr. Bowerman was not compliant with his diabetes treatment, it was
obliged to instruct the jury about the proper use of that evidence.
{¶16} Under Evidence Rule 105, “[w]hen evidence which is admissible as to one party
or for one purpose but not admissible as to another party or for another purpose is admitted, the
court, upon request of a party, shall restrict the evidence to its proper scope and instruct the jury
accordingly.” The Ohio Supreme Court has also explained that “[o]rdinarily
requested instructions should be given if they are correct statements of the law applicable to the
facts in the case and reasonable minds might reach the conclusion sought by the instruction.”
Murphy v. Carrollton Mfg. Co., 61 Ohio St.3d 585, 591 (1991), quoting Markus & Palmer, Trial
Handbook for Ohio Lawyers 860, Section 36:2 (3 Ed.1991).
{¶17} Regarding noncompliance, as we previously noted, the Bowermans have not
directed this Court to any evidence introduced by Dr. Taylor and his employer that Mr.
Bowerman was not compliant with his diabetes treatment. Dr. Taylor and his employer also did
not argue that Mr. Bowerman was contributorily negligent. The trial court, therefore, correctly
determined that an instruction on contributory negligence was not appropriate. Cromer v.
Children’s Hosp. Med. Ctr. of Akron, 142 Ohio St.3d 257,
2015-Ohio-229, ¶ 33. Although there
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was evidence that Mr. Bowerman’s diabetes was uncontrolled, it was relevant as to the cause of
the abscess and whether the infection would have responded to treatment. We conclude that the
court’s failure to instruct the jury on contributory negligence was not an error of law that entitled
the Bowermans to a new trial.
{¶18} The Bowermans also argue that the trial court incorrectly failed to submit several
interrogatories to the jury. Civil Rule 49(B) provides that “[t]he court shall submit written
interrogatories to the jury, together with appropriate forms for a general verdict, upon request of
any party prior to the commencement of argument.” “The purpose of an interrogatory is to test
the jury’s thinking in resolving an ultimate issue so as not to conflict with its verdict.” Moretz v.
Muakkassa, 137 Ohio St.3d 171,
2013-Ohio-4656, ¶ 77, quoting Freeman v. Norfolk & W. Ry.
Co.,
69 Ohio St.3d 611, 613 (1994). “[If] both the content and the form of a proposed
interrogatory are proper, Civ.R. 49 imposes a mandatory duty upon the trial court to submit the
interrogatory to the jury.”
Id.
{¶19} The interrogatories that the Bowermans proposed were whether Dr. Taylor and
his employer proved by a preponderance of the evidence that Mr. Bowerman was negligent and
whether they proved that Mr. Bowerman directly and proximately caused his own injuries. The
interrogatories also asked the jury to state in what respects Mr. Bowerman was negligent and to
assign to Mr. Bowerman and Dr. Taylor the percentages to which their negligence caused Mr.
Bowerman’s injuries. The Bowermans argue that the interrogatories would have tested the
correctness of the jury’s general verdict and allowed the court to determine whether it was based
on a finding that Mr. Bowerman caused his own injuries.
{¶20} The interrogatories proposed by the Bowermans all pertained to whether Mr.
Bowerman was contributorily negligent and, if so, the degree to which it caused his injuries,
9
which were not issues in the case. Accordingly, because the content of the interrogatories was
not proper, we conclude that the trial court’s failure to submit them to the jury was not an error
of law that entitled the Bowermans to a new trial under Rule 59(A)(9). The Bowermans’ second
assignment of error is overruled.
CONDITIONAL CROSS-ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING DEFENDANT CROSS-APPELLANT/APPELLEE SUMMA HEALTH SYSTEM’S MOTION FOR
DIRECTED VERDICT ON THE AGENCY-BY-ESTOPPEL CLAIM
ASSERTED BY PLAINTIFFS APPELLANTS/CROSS APPELLEES RODNEY
AND HILARY BOWERMAN.
{¶21} Summa argues in its conditional cross-assignment of error that the trial court
should have directed a verdict to it on the Bowermans’ agency-by-estoppel claim. See App.R.
3(C)(1). In light of our resolution of the Bowermans’ assignments of error, we conclude that the
issue raised by Summa is moot. Accordingly, we will not address it. App.R. 12(A)(1)(c).
III.
{¶22} The Bowermans’ assignments of error are overruled. The judgment of the
Summit County Court of Common Pleas is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
There were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
We order that a special mandate issue out of this Court, directing the Court of Common
Pleas, County of Summit, State of Ohio, to carry this judgment into execution. A certified copy
of this journal entry shall constitute the mandate, pursuant to App.R. 27.
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Immediately upon the filing hereof, this document shall constitute the journal entry of
judgment, and it shall be file stamped by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals at which time the
period for review shall begin to run. App.R. 22(C). The Clerk of the Court of Appeals is
instructed to mail a notice of entry of this judgment to the parties and to make a notation of the
mailing in the docket, pursuant to App.R. 30.
Costs taxed to Appellants/Cross-Appellees.
JENNIFER HENSAL
FOR THE COURT
SCHAFER, P. J.
CALLAHAN, J.
CONCUR.
APPEARANCES:
STEPHEN S. CRANDALL, Attorney at Law, for Appellants/Cross-Appellees.
STACY A. STARCHER and JILLIAN L. DINEHART, Attorneys at Law, for Appellees.
SUSAN M. AUDEY, MATTHEW P. MORIARTY, and SARAH STOVER, Attorneys at Law,
for Appellee/Cross-Appellant.
