Special v. Baux
2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 18090
| Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | 2011Background
- Susan Special died five hours after cesarean delivery under anesthesia by Dr. Baux; death attributed to amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) vs other causes.
- Estate sued Dr. Baux, associated Corporations, and West Boca Medical Center for negligence in anesthesia, monitoring, fluids, and emergency response.
- Plai n tiff relied on Dr. Adelman and Dr. Dildy to diagnose AFE; defense relied on Dr. Wolf’s autopsy and a general exclusion-diagnosis framework.
- Trial court barred cross-examination aimed at impeaching Adelman’s AFE diagnosis by introducing hospital-incidence statistics; ruling challenged as improper collateral impeachment.
- En banc court overruled prior but-for style harmless error tests for civil cases and adopted the “more likely than not” standard that an error did not contribute to the verdict.
- Court held the cross-examination restriction was harmless under the new civil-harmless-error standard and affirmed the judgment in favor of defendants.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proper standard for harmless error in civil cases | Special seeks DiGuilio-based, process-oriented review | Baux contends existing district standards suffice | Adopted “more likely than not” standard for civil cases |
| Whether exclusion of cross-examination was harmless | Impeachment were critical to undermining Adelman’s diagnosis | Evidence limited impact; closing argued statistics | Harmless error; no miscarriage of justice |
| Impact of cross-examination ruling on credibility of AFE diagnosis | Impeachment would undermine AFE as sole cause | Jury could consider statistics but not rely solely on them | No reversible error; credibility assessment intact |
| Whether court should recede from prior harmless error tests | Maintain traditional but-for/DiGuilio approaches | Retain flexibility of civil standard | Court recedes from strict but-for and adopts civil “more likely than not” test |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. DiGuilio, 491 So.2d 1129 (Fla. 1986) (established ‘effect on the fact finder’ harmless error in criminal cases; burden on state to show error not contributed to verdict)
- Gormley v. GTE Prod. Corp., 587 So.2d 455 (Fla. 1991) (burden on beneficiary of error to prove harmlessness; collateral-source evidence may influence verdict)
- Sheffield v. Superior Ins. Co., 800 So.2d 197 (Fla. 2001) (collateral-source evidence generally not harmless; burden on proponent to show harmlessness)
- Linn v. Fossum, 946 So.2d 1032 (Fla. 2006) (post-DiGuilio emphasis on expert credibility and competing opinions)
- Damico v. Lundberg, 379 So.2d 964 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979) (requires ‘reasonably probable’ that result would be different on retrial; relates to civil standard)