Webster v. Johnson

OPINION

HOYT, Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment based on a jury award of $1,223,371 in a medical malpractice case. The jury found that appellant, Dr. Ross Webster, was negligent and that his negligence was a proximate cause of appellee’s, Donna Kay Johnson’s, damages.

In June 1979, Johnson visited Dr. Webster seeking a surgical solution to her obesity. Dr. Webster recommended a procedure called the “gastric wrap.” The procedure called for wrapping the stomach around itself and then wrapping the stomach with a tube and a plastic sheet to maintain the stomach’s new shape. Generally, this…