Barbara J. Guess and James A. Guess v. Dr‪.‬

TOMLIN, P.J., W.S. This is a medical malpractice case. Plaintiffs are husband and wife. While initially, several defendants were named and others subsequently added to the complaint, the case ultimately went to trial against Dr. William P. Maury, Jr. and the Mid-South Gynecological and Obstetrical Association, of which he was a member. In this opinion, plaintiffs may be referred to singularly or collectively. The term defendant will refer to Dr. Maury. The gravamen of plaintiff's complaint against defendant was that subsequent to a surgical procedure in July, 1975, the defendant failed to remove a rubber drain tube inserted in the plaintiff's incision to assist healing. Defendant admitted the insertion of the tube, his failure to remove the tube, and that the tube should have been removed by him. At the Conclusion of an eight-day trial the jury rendered a verdict in the amount of $950,000 for the plaintiff Barbara Guess and $83,000 for plaintiff James Guess. Defendant timely filed a motion for a new trial which was subsequently argued and taken under consideration by the trial Judge, The Honorable Robert Lanier. The order on motion for new trial remitted plaintiff Barbara Guess' judgment to $235,000 and plaintiff James Guess' award to $25,000. All parties have appealed. For the reasons hereafter stated, we reverse the trial court and remand for a new trial.