Ponirakis v. Choi

In this appeal of a judgment in favor of a defendant in a medical malpractice action, we consider whether the trial court erred in instructing the jury on the defense of contributory negligence.

Sotiri Ponirakis filed a motion for judgment against Dr. David K. Choi 1 alleging, among other things, that Dr. Choi was negligent in failing to detect and treat Ponirakis’s lupus nephritis, a kidney disease. Ponirakis alleged that this delay in treatment caused him to suffer kidney failure, and that proper treatment would have prevented this result.

The following evidence was presented at trial. In…