England v. Costa

Tom Glaze, Justice.

In this medical-malpractice suit, our court is asked to determine when it is appropriate to give a modified form of AMI Civ. 4th 602, which deals with the right to assume others will use ordinary care and obey the law.

Appellant Daphne England became pregnant in 1997; her due date was December 24, 1997. That date came and went, and England had not gone into labor, so her obstetrician, appellee Dr. Emil Costa, asked her to come back to see him on December 31, 1997. England was still not showing signs of delivery by that date, so Dr. Costa scheduled a nonstress test1 for…