Justice Joan Lobis
Barra sued defendants alleging negligence and lack of informed consent in this medical malpractice suit arising from his back surgery. Defendants moved for summary judgment. Dr. Babu performed surgery on Barra including implanting a device with hardware, including screws, that would provide temporary support until Barra's bones fused, as he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis. A second surgery was performed after it was determined several screws broke. Barra also alleged a manufacturing defect against Depuy Orthopaedics. The court found Barra's expert inspected the broken screws and his opinion was provided well within any trial date, thus was timely. It also found the expert's opinion was non-speculative, ruling summary judgment was inappropriate where parties adduced conflicting expert opinions, denying same to defendants. The court stated it was not convinced that defendants established a prima facie case of entitlement to summary judgment on the lack of informed consent claim. It stated defendants mischaracterized the law to suggest that expert testimony must rebut their claim that informed consent was provided. Thus, summary judgment on the issue of informed consent was denied.
