Fieux v. Cardiovascular & Thoracic Clinic, P.C.

Plaintiff filed this medical malpractice action against his surgeon and the hospital (defendants) after a clamp was left behind his heart following open heart surgery. Plaintiff relied on res ipsa loquitur to infer negligence without using expert medical testimony to establish the standard of care. The trial court found that, without expert medical testimony, it could not conclude that leaving a clamp in plaintiffs chest would not have happened in the absence of negligence on the part of defendants. The trial court granted defendants’ motions for directed verdict, and plaintiff seeks a…