Hayes Ex Rel. Estate of Billarreal v. Luckey

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SMITH, District Judge.

This is a diversity case. Plaintiff is a resident of the State of New York. She seeks damages from an Alabama physician who rendered medical treatment to her deceased mother. She contends the doctor failed to comply with the appropriate standard of care when examining her mother, 1 and that such failure caused her mother’s death. 2

The Issue

An unanticipated issue arose on the threshold of trial: what is plaintiff’s burden of persuasion? Defendant insists that plaintiff must prove the elements of her claim by “substantial evidence.” For example,…