Page:Aka v. Jefferson Hospital Association, Inc.pdf/10

636   coverage for her part-time work, and her state insurance coverage had been canceled.

The parties disagreed as to the nature of any legal relationship between Drs. Orange and Washington. At a minimum, Dr. Orange leased office space from Dr. Washington. However, some evidence suggested that Dr. Orange had a contractual agreement with Dr. Washington, and appellant claimed that Dr. Orange was actually an employee of Erma Washington, M.D., and Associates, P.A. For example, appellant insisted that Dr. Washington was actually on-call for Dr. Orange the evening Mrs. Aka died and was only contacted because Dr. Orange was identified on the patient's chart as having authorized the induction. For her part, Dr. Orange admitted that she occasionally consulted with the AHEC resident physicians but conceded that she was not a state employee.

Consequently, appellant argued that Dr. Washington treated Mrs. Aka under the initial presumption that she was Dr. Orange's private patient. Given appellant's theory that Dr. Washington's cancellation of the c-section procedure proximately caused the deaths of Mrs. Aka and her unborn baby, appellant maintained that the question of what "hat" Dr. Washington was wearing – state or private employee – remained a question for the jury. The trial court disagreed and dismissed both Dr. Washington and Erma Washington, M.D., and Associates, PA. from the suit.

The remainder of the case was tried before a jury from January 28, 1999, to February 16, 1999. Following two days of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict in favor of all defendants. Appellant filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied on April 22, 1999. Aka then brought the instant appeal challenging: (1) the trial court's order granting partial summary judgment against the estate of Baby Boy Aka pursuant to Chatelain v. Kelley, 322 Ark. 517, 910 S.W.2d 215 (1995); (2) the trial court's order granting summary judgment and immunity to Dr. Washington and her professional association based upon her part-time state employment; (3) the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury's verdict; and (4) the trial court's rulings excluding an autopsy photograph and related testimony, evidence of prior complaints about the AHEC residency-training program, and certain testimony regarding Candace Stewart, a second-year resident physician with AHEC. The Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association and Arkansas Right to Life, Inc., also filed amicus briefi in support of appellant's arguments urging us to overrule Chatelain v. Kelley. On cross-appeal, appellee–doctors Herbert Fendley, William Freeman, and Harvie M. Attwood contend that the trial court erred by improperly admitting testimony of