Judge makes pre-trial ruling in Jane Doe v. hospital

A defense attorney’s attempt to throw out a damage suit against the Oconee Memorial Hospital has partially succeeded, according to a ruling by a circuit court judge.  At issue is whether a former patient, identified as a Jane Doe, may proceed with her three-year old claim stemming from being examined for a sexual attack that occurred three years earlier in an Atlanta parking garage.  The woman drove home to Oconee County and told hospital personnel she was attacked after attending a ballroom dancing event.  Her attorneys are contending that there was a break in a chain of custody involving her sexual exam kit which, according to Dekalb County law enforcement, failed to include a vial of blood necessary for the criminal investigation.  After holding a motion hearing last week, 10th Circuit Judge Lawton McIntosh granted summary judgment as it applies to a claim of implied contract, but denied summary judgment as it pertains to express contract.  As a result, a court officer tells us, the case remains on the trial docket and a formal order is being prepared for the judge’s signature.