Walker v. REGEHR

Hill, J.:

When the estate and heirs of a 17-year-old girl sued for wrongful death in this case, the law allowed any party to ask the district court to call a medical malpractice screening panel to decide whether there was a departure from the standard of practice of the health care specialty involved in the case and, if so, whether that departure caused the damages claimed. The court convened two such panels here — one to consider the administration of anesthesia to the girl and the second panel to look into the performance of the surgeon. Both panels filed reports which were admitted into…