Hestbeck v. Hennepin County

Rogosheske, Justice.

This is a medical malpractice action arising out of the surgical removal of plaintiff’s gallbladder. The jury by special verdict awarded plaintiff $12,500 damages, assessing negligence under our comparative-negligence statute 65 percent against defendant Thomas F. Coulon, the surgeon, and 35 percent against other employees of Hennepin County General Hospital, an agency of defendant county. Since we hold, contrary to defendants’ respective claims of error, that it was not improper to instruct the jury that negligence was inferable under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur;…