Black v. Comer

Dr. Clifford Black, a defendant in a case in the Calhoun Circuit Court, appeals from a summary judgment in favor of Holley Lynn Comer, his former patient and the plaintiff below. After Dr. Black performed a laparotomy on Comer, Comer sued Dr. Black, stating claims based on several theories, including battery and, as eventually framed by the parties, a failure to obtain consent. The claims related to Dr. Black's surgical removal from Comer's abdomen of a tissue mass that turned out to be a kidney. The trial court held that Dr. Black was liable as a matter of law on the battery and…