Professional Negligence Law Reporter

A Minnesota appellate court held that a hospital was not liable to a patient who fell and hit her head two hours after giving birth.

Angie Barsness fell and hit her head after a nurse allegedly encouraged her to get out of bed and take a bath approximately two hours after receiving an epidural and giving birth. Barsness sued Fairview Health Services, alleging medical negligence. The plaintiff asserted that she suffered from post-concussive syndrome as a result of the fall. The defendant moved to dismiss or for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff had failed to comply with expert witness disclosure requirements. The trial court granted dismissal.

Affirming, the appellate court found that a reasonable layperson would not know how receiving an epidural could affect the body and cause a person to fall. Additionally, a layperson would not be able to understand how a fall could lead to the plaintiff’s alleged injuries, the court said.

The court found that the affidavits submitted by the plaintiff’s experts had only broad and conclusory statements about causation and did not explain why the fall caused her alleged injuries. The affidavits also did not differentiate between the plaintiff’s documented medical issues before her fall and her post-fall injuries.

Thus, the court concluded that the expert affidavits lacked the necessary foundation and the record failed to show that it was more probable than not that the plaintiff’s injuries resulted from medical negligence.

Citation: Barsness v. Fairview Health Servs., 2024 WL 3565772 (Minn. Ct. App. July 29, 2024).