Jamison ex rel. Estate of Jamison-Barber v. Hilton, 775 S.E.2d 58

Samantha Jamison (patient with chronic hypertension) received prenatal care from Rock Hill Gynecological and Obstetrical Associates (the Practice) starting mid-pregnancy.
On Sept. 5, 2008 Jamison presented to the Practice reporting decreased fetal movement; after waiting ~1 hour a nurse practitioner ordered a non‑stress test and a biophysical profile; Dr. Ansley Hilton reviewed results and sent Jamison to labor & delivery around 11 a.m.
Dr. Christopher Benson (on call) prepared for an emergency C‑section at the hospital; upon hospital admission staff could not find a fetal heartbeat and Dr. Benson confirmed fetal demise. No definitive cause of death was determined.
Jamison sued Drs. Hilton and Benson and the Practice for malpractice alleging pre‑delivery death of her son, Jayden. Trial resulted in defense verdicts for Hilton and Benson, but a jury found the Practice negligent and awarded $90,000.
The Practice moved for JNOV arguing insufficient evidence of causation and that defense verdicts for the physicians foreclosed vicarious liability; the trial court denied JNOV and the denial was appealed.
The Court of Appeals affirmed, concluding there was some expert testimony linking delays and other employee actions at the Practice to Jayden’s death, precluding JNOV.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether JNOV should be granted because causation was not established by experts	Jamison: expert testimony (Dr. Phillips, Dr. Karotkin) provided evidence that delays and failures by Practice personnel contributed to fetal death	Practice: no expert tied defendants’ acts to Jayden’s death; defense verdicts for Hilton and Benson preclude vicarious liability	Denied JNOV: the court found some expert testimony that delays by Practice employees could have caused the death, so a reasonable jury could find liability
Whether verdict against Practice can stand despite verdicts for individual physicians	Jamison: Practice employees (not only the two physicians) committed negligent acts; expert attributed delay to Practice staff	Practice: acquittals of Hilton and Benson negate vicarious liability and record lacks evidence of negligence by other employees	Verdict stands: evidence of negligence by other Practice employees (e.g., triage/waiting delays) supported jury finding
Sufficiency/preservation of proximate-cause argument on appeal	Jamison: Practice failed to preserve causation argument	Practice: properly preserved argument in directed verdict motion	Court: Practice preserved the issue; rejects Jamison’s preservation claim
Standard for granting JNOV in malpractice case	N/A (legal standard)	N/A	Applied standard: view evidence favorably to non‑movant; JNOV only if no reasonable jury could reach verdict — standard met to deny JNOV

Wright v. Craft, 372 S.C. 1 (Ct. App. 2006) (JNOV is a renewal of directed verdict motion)
Elam v. S.C. Dep't of Transp., 361 S.C. 9 (standard: view evidence in light most favorable to nonmoving party)
Strange v. S.C. Dep't of Highways & Pub. Transp., 314 S.C. 427 (directed verdict denied if evidence yields more than one reasonable inference)
Gastineau v. Murphy, 331 S.C. 565 (JNOV may be granted only if no reasonable jury could have reached the challenged verdict)
Welch v. Epstein, 342 S.C. 279 (courts cannot resolve credibility conflicts on JNOV/directed verdict)
Brouwer v. Sisters of Charity Providence Hospitals, 409 S.C. 514 (elements plaintiff must prove in medical malpractice action)
Carver v. Med. Soc. of S.C., 286 S.C. 347 (need expert testimony to establish standard of care and breach absent common knowledge)
Hoard ex rel. Hoard v. Roper Hosp., Inc., 387 S.C. 539 (expert testimony on causation must state with reasonable certainty that injury most probably resulted from defendant’s negligence)
Ellis v. Oliver, 323 S.C. 121 (expert causation must provide a significant causal link, not a tenuous/hypothetical connection)
Wilder Corp. v. Wilke, 330 S.C. 71 (issue preserved on appeal only if raised and ruled upon by trial judge)