MEDICAL MALPRACTICE – RELEASE

Esquivel v. Watters, No. 94,691 (Kan. Ct. App. Apr. 6, 2007)

The Court of Appeals of Kansas affirmed a lower court's summary judgments in favor of a physician and medical clinic on medical malpractice claims arising out of the failure to notify the patient regarding the abnormal results of a free sonogram administered to determine the sex of the unborn child.

The judgment in favor of the physician was affirmed because the patient failed to present expert testimony establishing a causal link between the physician's conduct and the actual injuries and damages sustained by the patient and her child.

The judgment in favor of the clinic was affirmed on the grounds that (1) no patient-healthcare provider relationship existed between the patient and the clinic, and (2) the release form signed by the patient expressed in clear and unequivocal terms the clinic's intention to protect itself from liability resulting from performance of the free sonogram. The court construed the release form to precisely apply to the action the patient brought against the clinic.