Juror Affidavits Cause Uproar in Malpractice Case

Four jurors wrote affidavits claiming they felt coerced by the court to rule against a doctor who lost a $6.12 million medical malpractice case.

The affidavits came in the case of Dr. Michael Goodman, a gastroenterologist with a private practice at the Medical Mall in Erlanger hospital in Hamilton County. A jury issued the award in May in favor of 33-year-old Kristen Freeman.

Freeman suffered cardiac arrest and permanent, debilitating brain damage from complications of a colonoscopy and endoscopy performed by Goodman in 2006.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that four jurors, whose names were not made public, say they felt "coerced" by the court to change their minds and find fault with Dr. Goodman in the interest only of saving the time and expense of having to retry the case.