Trees v. Ordonez

Peggy Trees (plaintiff) had neurosurgeon Dr. Julio Ordonez (defendant) attach a special plate to bones in her neck. However, Ordonez left the screw heads sticking above the plate’s surface, where they could damage soft tissue. Trees then suffered esophagus damage from the protruding screw heads and sued Ordonez for medical malpractice. Instead of submitting evidence from a medical doctor, Trees submitted expert evidence from a biomedical engineer, Dr. Tencer, to establish the standard of care for what Ordonez should have done. Tencer was not a medical doctor. However, Tencer did have extensive experience and expertise in orthopedic-device issues and the special plate in particular. Tencer testified that Ordonez should have used a larger plate and curved it to follow the spinal curve. This would have allowed Ordonez to attach the screws in a way that kept their potentially sharp heads safely below the surface of the plate. Tencer also said that if a surgeon could not get the screw heads below the plate surface, the surgeon should choose not to install the plate at that time. The trial court ruled that Tencer could not set the standard of care because he was not a medical doctor. Without evidence of the standard of care from a medical doctor, the trial court dismissed the medical-malpractice claim. Trees appealed.