Court of Appeals: Medical malpractice suit against Topeka surgeon to proceed

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - The Kansas Court of Appeals has ruled that the sixth case of medical malpractice brought against a Topeka surgeon will proceed.

The Kansas Court of Appeals has announced that the medical malpractice case against a Topeka surgeon has been remanded to the Douglas Co. District Court for further hearings. The July 28, 2023, opinion stems from a 2018 case in which the victim, Jeannine Williams-Davidson, claims the wrong organ was taken out of her body, costing her more than just money.

Court records indicate that in Williams-Davidson had originally gone to Stormont Vail Health in Topeka for the removal of her left adrenal gland. However, the doctor who performed the surgery, Dr. Nason Lui, misidentified her pancreas as the adrenal gland and instead removed part of the pancreas. Further surgery and ongoing medical treatment pushed Williams-Davidson and her husband, Jeffrey Davidson, to file the malpractice lawsuit.

Previously in the case, the Douglas Co. District Court granted summary judgment to Stormont Vail and Dr. Lui as the Davidsons had no designated medical expert to testify about the standard of care or whether Lui failed to meet that standard. The remaining claims were dismissed as moot as they all hinged on the medical malpractice allegations.

The Davidsons argued that common knowledge exceptions and the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applied so the expert testimony was not required. They also argued that the claims stand on their own and should not have been dismissed.

The Court of Appeals noted that it agreed the district court improperly granted summary judgment.

“When the surgeon misidentifies and removes all or part of a healthy organ, leaving the ogan the surgeon intended to operate on untouched, the common-knowledge exception alleviates the need for expert testimony to establish the standard of care or a breach of that standard,” the panel of justices wrote.

As the rest of the Davidsons’ claims were considered moot based on the decision, the Court of Appeals said it reversed the decision and sent it back to the district court for further proceedings.

Judge David E. Bruns was the only dissenting opinion. Judges Amy Fellows Cline and Jacy J. Hurst also heard the case.

Court records also indicate this is not Lui’s first medical malpractice suit:

Hui Chul Un filed a medical malpractice case against Lui on Nov. 20, 2005, in Shawnee Co. The case was settled on June 4, 2007, with a judicial conference or hearing.
Michelle Warnow filed a medical malpractice case against Lui on Nov. 13, 2007, in Shawnee Co. The case was dismissed on Sept. 11, 2008.
Eugene F. Wolf filed a medical malpractice case against Lui on April 1, 2010. It was settled on Sept. 22, 2011, with mediation or arbitration.
Franklin White filed a medical malpractice case against Lui on April 12, 2010. It was settled on June 14, 2011, with a judicial conference or hearing.
Allenea Anderson filed a medical malpractice case against Lui on Aug. 8, 2013. The case was dismissed on Nov. 14, 2013.

The Kansas Board of Healing Arts website indicates no formal disciplinary action has been taken against Lui’s license to practice medicine.

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