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Court Upholds Verdict for Team Doctor Blamed for Player's Vision Loss

A Louisiana appeals court has ended a minor-league ice hockey player's bid to overturn a directed verdict in favor of the team physician he said was negligent in allowing him to fly home after suffering an eye injury during a game in Texas.

The trial court judge had found that plaintiff Wayne R. Gibson failed to provide expert testimony that Dr. John A. Digiglia III had violated the accepted standard of care.

According to the opinion, Gibson, who played for the Lake Charles Ice Pirates of the Western Professional Hockey League, was injured during an away game in San Angelo, Texas, Jan. 20, 1998.

He was taken to a local hospital where Dr. Grady Bryan, an oral maxillofacial surgeon, and ophthalmologist Dr. John Barnes examined him.

A CT scan revealed a fracture on the left side of Gibson's face and a retinal hemorrhage, the opinion says.

Although Barnes saw Gibson that night he did not perform a dilated eye examination, opting instead to see him the next morning. However, when Barnes arrived the hospital, he learned that Gibson had been discharged.

Barnes testified that he drove to the airport and advised Gibson to see an ophthalmologist when he got home, the opinion says.

Digiglia testified at trial that Bryan called him that morning and said Gibson had sustained a fracture on the left side of his face and a retinal hemorrhage, according to the opinion.

Bryan allegedly assured Digiglia that Gibson was stable and that there were no contraindications for air travel home, the opinion says.

Gibson claimed he suffered significant loss of depth perception and central vision in his left eye from the change in pressure in the airplane, which exacerbated bleeding and swelling in his eye tissues.

He also said the delay in treatment caused by returning home added to the severity of his injury.

Gibson and his wife sued Digiglia in the Calcasieu Parish District Court, seeking damages for his injuries, loss of income, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium.

The suit alleged that Digiglia violated his duty to confirm the accuracy of medical information he received about Gibson from the hospital and that he breached the standard of care in allowing Gibson to fly home.

The case went to trial in February 2007.

At trial, Digiglia argued that he was entitled to rely on Bryan's representations and that Gibson had offered no evidence to establish that his actions fell below the standard of care for a team physician, according to the opinion.

Gibson countered that Digiglia had a duty to obtain his test results and medical reports to confirm the accuracy of the medical information he received before allowing him to fly home for treatment.

Medical clearance to travel should have come from Digiglia and not from the surgeon who saw Gibson in Texas, the plaintiff said.

At the close of Gibson's case, the judge granted Digiglia's motion for a directed verdict. Gibson appealed.

In affirming the judge's decision, Louisiana's 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal noted that Gibson's expert witness, ophthalmologist Dr. David Newsome, focused entirely on the treatment Gibson received and failed to address the standard-of-care issues.

The appeals court added that there was no other evidence that could lead "reasonable, fair-minded jurors" to conclude that Digiglia was negligent.

Accordingly, the court affirmed the trial judge's decision.

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