Martin v. Reikes

PRATHER, Justice,

for the Court:

I. INTRODUCTION

In 1974, Dr. J.P. Culpepper, a Hattiesburg surgeon, performed a hysterectomy-on Laverne Martin. Subsequent tests on Martin’s removed uterus revealed the presence of uterine cancer. Dr. Culpepper and a “conference of doctors” recommended to Martin that she undergo radiation treatment. The treatments allegedly led to various side effects, which Martin contended were the consequence of medical malpractice. So in 1978, she and her husband filed a suit against various doctors in the Forrest County Circuit Court. The Mississippi Medicaid Commission…