Trial testimony ends–14 witnesses over five days

Lawyers have started their final say to the Oconee jury in the case alleging medical malpractice. Testimony ran five days and 14 witnesses—seven for the plaintiff and seven for the defense. Perhaps, by early afternoon, the jury will be able to take the evidence into their room and make a decision in Camille Hess v. Dr. Miles McGuff and the Oconee Medical Center. Hess’s attorney, Larry Brandt, says his client was left legally blind in the left eye and with no depth perception in 2014. Although the jury heard testimony at length about what can or cannot be done for someone with a stroke in the eye (central retina artery occlusion,) Brandt contends the case is “about mistakes and deviation from the standard of care.” The plaintiff’s side argued that had Hess’s true condition been recognized earlier during the morning in the Oconee emergency department, she could have had a better chance for recovery had she been sent sooner to an ophthalmologist in Greenville. The defense side sought to refute that position with testimony supporting the way the Oconee emergency doctor assessed the patient, given the fact that he was not a specialist in eye care.