West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Affirm Summary Judgement
On October 13, 2020, in the case of Shaffer v. Bragg, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in favor of William Bragg, M.D., and his anesthesiology practice, General Anesthesia Services, Inc., and in favor of Charleston Area Medical Center, Inc. (“CAMC”). The Court found that the standard of care for informed consent did not require Dr. Bragg to inform Mrs. Shaffer that a CRNA student’s participation in an epidural placement increased the risk of a wet tap. The Court further found that because it was Dr. Bragg who caused the wet tap, there was no error in the circuit court’s conclusion that the deviation from the standard of care for informed consent did not cause Mrs. Shaffer’s injuries. Further, regardless of whether there was evidence that the CAMC deviated from the standard of care for informed consent, as the Court concluded above, the deviation from the standard of care for informed consent did not cause Mrs. Shaffer’s injuries. Therefore, the circuit court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of CAMC on the issue of informed consent was not made in error.
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