Stokes ex rel. Estate of Stokes v. Spartanburg Regional Medical Center

HEARN, C.J.:

In this medical malpractice action, Terry Lee Stokes, the personal representative of Jennings E. Stokes’s estate, ap*517peals from a jury verdict in favor of Spartanburg Regional Medical Center (the Hospital). Appellant argues the trial judge erred in failing to instruct the jury that it could draw a negative inference from the Hospital’s failure to preserve critical pieces of medical evidence. We reverse and remand.

FACTS

On June 10, 1998, Jennings Stokes, age seventy-seven, underwent surgery to remove his thyroid and lymph nodes, which were cancerous. Dr. Hull performed the surgery at…