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Drevenak v. Abendschein

Frye admissibility of evidence standard does not apply to evaluation of sufficiency of evidence in District of Columbia.

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Appeal from the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (Hon. Wendell P. Gardner, Trial Judge)

Argued February 10, 2000

After a bench trial in this medical malpractice matter, which involved a total knee joint replacement and allegations of improperly treated infection, the trial court rendered judgment in favor of appellee, Dr. Walter Abendschein. Appellant Lucinda Drevenak filed a timely appeal, alleging that: (1) the trial court used the wrong legal standard in assessing the expert testimony, and thus, based its judgment on “unsupported” testimony rather than “well-validated, documented and supported testimony”; (2) “the trial court did not utilize the correct standards of Frye *fn1 and Daubert *fn2 in evaluating the defendant’s expert testimony”; and (3) many of the trial court’s findings were clearly erroneous, specifically, those relating to the existence of a “sinus” and “sinus tract” in Ms. Drevenak’s knee. Ms. Drevenak attributed the alleged errors to the trial judge making extensive findings months after trial, without the benefit of a trial transcript. Finding no error; holding that the Frye admissibility of evidence standard does not apply to an evaluation of the sufficiency of the evidence in this jurisdiction; and concluding that the evidence at trial is sufficient to support the trial court’s judgment, we affirm.

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