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Stormont Vail doctor who removed wrong organ can be sued after tie in Kansas Supreme Court

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Stormont Vail doctor who removed wrong organ can be sued after tie in Kansas Supreme Court


A rare tie in the Kansas Supreme Court means a Stormont Vail Health patient will be allowed to continue her lawsuit against the Topeka hospital and a doctor who removed the wrong organ.

When Jeannine Williams-Davidson had a surgery to remove her adrenal gland at Stormont Vail, physician Nason Lui removed part of her pancreas instead.

The patient sued, but courts have been divided on whether you need to be a medical expert to decide that a doctor violated the standard of care by cutting out a chunk of a healthy organ while leaving untouched the one with a noncancerous tumor.

Medical expert not needed when common sense is enough

Kansas law typically requires plaintiffs to offer expert testimony in medical malpractice cases because jurors generally are not experts in medicine. But there is a common sense and knowledge exception that applies when a patient’s care was “so obviously lacking” and “the results are so bad” that it would be apparent to an average person.

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Douglas County District Court previously ruled against the patient because she didn’t have a medical expert. That dismissed the claims without having a jury trial.

A divided three-judge panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals disagreed and reversed the decision in July.

“When the surgeon misidentifies and removes all or part of a healthy organ, leaving the organ 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,” wrote judges Amy Fellows Cline and Jacy J. Hurst.

Judge David E. Bruns dissented, arguing it shouldn’t apply because it was inadvertent.

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“The average lay person would not have the knowledge necessary to determine whether this mistake rose to the level of a breach of the appropriate standard of care by a surgeon,” Bruns wrote. “In other words, I do not believe it is patently obvious that the bad result occurred due to a breach of reasonable care.”

The doctor and hospital then appealed to the Supreme Court.

More: Kansas court rules Stormont Vail doctor who removed the wrong organ can still be sued

Kansas Supreme Court tied

Ties are not common at the Kansas Supreme Court, which has seven justices. But it has happened in the past, at least as recently as two years ago, when a justice recused himself from a case that he had been an attorney on before joining the bench.

When a tie happens at an appellate court, the lower court ruling stands.

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In this ruling, Justice Eric Rosen recused himself and the other six were equally divided. Justices Dan Biles, K.J. Wall and Melissa Taylor Standridge would have affirmed the Kansas Court of Appeals reversal of the Douglas County District Court. Chief Justice Marla Luckert and justices Caleb Stegall and Evelyn Wilson would have reversed the appeals court and sided with the district court.

Friday’s ruling didn’t include any legal reasoning from the two camps.

Attorneys argue over common knowledge

Prior to Friday’s ruling, the high court held oral arguments on Jan. 31.

Lui and Stormont Vail were represented by Cynthia J. Sheppeard, of Topeka law firm Goodell, Stratton, Edmonds & Palmer.

Sheppeard said that Lui and a second doctor who assisted on the laparoscopic surgery him would “testify that what happened sometimes happens, even with the best of care.” She said he admits he made a mistake, but a mistake doesn’t necessarily mean it was negligence.

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“They were so close together, and the adrenal and the pancreas looked so much alike, and there was blood in the field, he’d been removing the adhesions,” she said. “Between the two of them, they thought they were removing the adrenal.”

Williams-Davidson and her husband, Jeffrey Davidson, were represented by Jason Belveal, of Belveal Law Office in Holton.

“I do believe that if you say to a person, I went in for surgery and my doctor left behind the diseased organ, cut out a healthy organ — or a big part of a healthy organ — any person off the street is going to go, ‘Yikes, something went wrong on that,’” Belveal said.

Belveal said a jury should get to decide, after hearing the facts of the case, whether that’s medical malpractice. He described opposition to common knowledge applying in this case as “elitist protection.”

“Is it justice for all, or is it justice for those folks who can afford an expert to come in and say, ‘No, this this is wrong,’” he said, adding that “at some point, we should trust the jurors to be able to make certain decisions.”

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Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.





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UConn, Kansas State among five women’s college basketball games to watch this weekend

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UConn, Kansas State among five women’s college basketball games to watch this weekend


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Parity is growing in women’s college basketball every day, evidenced in part by so many good early season, non-conference matchups. These games also help increase parity. 

The parity of women’s hoops is also evidenced by all the movement this week in the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll. Stanford, Illinois and South Dakota State made their season debuts, while Baylor and Duke tumbled down the rankings (and in FSU, Creighton and Indiana’s case, completely out of the poll). 

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That means after a slate of ranked matchups this week, even crazier things could happen in next week’s poll. The more parity, the better (and even though the NCAA Tournament feels very far away right now — the more parity, the more entertaining March Madness will be). 

With that in mind, here are five women’s games to watch this week:

Creighton at No. 11 Kansas State

Thursday, 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

The most under-covered player in women’s college hoops is Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee, a 6-foot-6 center who holds the NCAA single-game scoring record (61 points). Lee is a handful at both ends of the floor, and she’s got a lot around her including Tulsa transfer Temira Poindexter (19.0 ppg) and Missouri State transfer Taylor Kennedy (17.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg). Meanwhile, Creighton did indeed fall to unranked South Dakota State last week, though Lauren Jensen (23 points) was the scoring machine expected. The Blue Jays tend to shoot a lot of 3s and the key to picking up a tough road win this week will be draining a lot of those attempts.

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No. 2 UConn at No. 15 North Carolina

Friday, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN2

UConn coach Geno Auriemma will tie the all-time wins record with a victory against the Tar Heels, and you can bet Alyssa Ustby (10.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg) and North Carolina would love nothing more than to spoil that party. Ustby and guard Lexi Donarski (15.0 ppg) will have their hands full with a healthy Paige Bueckers (17.5 ppg, 4.0 apg) and Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen (6.0 ppg, 6.0 apg). But keep an eye on UConn freshman Jana El Alfy, a 6-foot-5 freshman center from Cairo, Egypt, who is finally healthy and has come off the bench to give UConn some excellent minutes (11.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg) early this season. She will be a difference maker. 

No. 18 Louisville at No. 19 Kentucky

Saturday, 6 p.m. ET, SECN+

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This is a matchup of two of the best coached programs in the country, and an early look at Kentucky under first-year coach Kenny Brooks, who brought All-American guard Georgia Amoore (12.0 ppg, 9.0 apg) and center Clara Strack (18.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg) with him to Lexington. Jeff Walz’s group boasts one of the country’s most underappreciated post players in Olivia Cochran (12.3 ppg, 62 FG%) while freshman guard Tajianna Roberts (15.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg) has shown why she was a five-rated prospect coming out of high school. This is one of the best rivalries in women’s hoops and with Kentucky hiring Brooks last offseason, it only got better. 

No. 23 Stanford at Indiana

Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, FS1

Few people expected much of Stanford this season, as the Cardinal feature a new coach and almost entirely new roster. Picked to finish seventh in the ACC, Stanford thumped Gonzaga last week on the day its home floor was named Tara VanDerveer Court. But that’s not the most impressive thing about the Cardinal four games through the season — it’s the fact that Stanford is shooting a staggering 57.7% from 3. Sophomore forward Nunu Agara (19.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg) does everything for the Cardinal and will be a handful for Indiana, which has dropped back-to-back games to Harvard (yes, Harvard) and Butler. Lilly Meister (12.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and Sydney Parrish (11.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg) will be eager to put those losses behind them.

No. 10 NC State at TCU

Sunday, 3 p.m., ESPN

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Hailey Van Lith’s TCU debut went about as well as it could have, as the super senior guard turned in a stat line of 21 points, five rebounds, seven assists and six steals. Now she’ll get to go up against one of the best defenses with Wolfpack guards Aziaha James (15.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and Saniya Rivers (7.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg) patrolling the perimeter. The difference maker could very well be seventh-year senior Sedona Prince (19.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 5.7 bpg), or maybe sophomore transfer Donovyn Hunter (8.5 ppg, 4.0 apg). 

Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell





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Patrick Mahomes calls burglary at his Kansas City area home “frustrating and disappointing”

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Patrick Mahomes calls burglary at his Kansas City area home “frustrating and disappointing”


Patrick Mahomes called the burglary at his Kansas City area home “frustrating and disappointing.”

News broke Tuesday that the homes of Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce were burglarized on Oct. 6 and Oct. 7 respectively. The Chiefs played the Saints on Monday Night Football on Oct. 7.

On Wednesday, Mahomes provided no further information, so it remains unknown whether anyone was home and what exactly was stolen.

“I can’t get into too many of the details because the investigation is still ongoing, but it’s obviously something you don’t want to happen — to really anybody, but obviously yourself,” Mahomes said, via Blair Kerkhoff of Kanas City Star.

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Belton police told the newspaper that Mahomes’ home showed no signs of forced entry.

TMZ reported the back door was damaged at Kelce’s house in Leawood and $20,000 in cash was taken, according to a police report.





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Homes of Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce burglarized

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Homes of Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce burglarized


The homes of Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce were broken into within days of each other last month, law enforcement reports show.

“Obviously it’s frustrating, disappointing,” Mahomes said before practice on Wednesday.

The break-ins, which were first reported by TMZ, happened just before and the day of the Chiefs’ 26-13 home victory over the New Orleans Saints on 7 October, as Kelce’s superstar girlfriend Taylor Swift watched from the stands. No injuries were reported in either case.

One day before the Monday night game, law enforcement was called to a home matching Mahomes’ address in a private gated resort-like community in northwestern Cass County, just to the south of the city’s metropolitan area.

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Mahomes said he couldn’t provide many details because the investigation is ongoing. He described it as “something you don’t want to happen to anybody and obviously yourself”.

His name isn’t listed on the sheriff’s office report, which the Associated Press obtained. The single-page document shows another person called just after midnight on 6 October to report what was classified as a burglary. It didn’t describe any missing items.

Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift, Brittany and Patrick Mahomes attend the US Open men’s final in September. Photograph: Javier García/REX/Shutterstock

Ronnie Lozano, a spokesman for the sheriff’s department, wrote in an email that the investigation is active and declined to answer other questions, including whether there had been any arrests. The prosecutor for the county didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Around 7.30pm on 7 October, as the Chiefs played the Saints at Arrowhead Stadium, a home matching the address of Kelce’s was broken into in the affluent suburb of Leawood, just over the state line in Kansas. The crime wasn’t reported until early the next morning, an offense report obtained from police by the AP shows.

Kelce’s name isn’t listed in the report, which said losses included $20,000 in cash and damage to a rear door. The 16,000 sq ft home includes a wine cellar, backyard pool and six-car garage.

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“The Leawood Police Department does not comment about specific victims of crimes except in the case of fatality crashes or homicides,” police captain Jason Ahring said in an email.

Melody Webb, a spokeswoman for the area’s Johnson County prosecutor’s office, said in an email that the office had no comment.



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