Salinetro was in a car accident and sustained injuries.
She went to Dr. Nystrom for treatment, who made x-rays of her back.
Turns out, Salinetro was pregnant. She was not aware of
this fact at the time. The x-rays resulted in the death of the baby.
Alinetro sued Nystrom for malpractice.
Nystrom did not ask if Salinetro might be pregnant before
he performed the x-rays.
The Trial Court found for Nystrom on a directed verdict.
Salinetro appealed.
The Appellate Court affirmed.
The Court found that even if Nystrom did not meet the
standard of care by failing to ask if Salinetro was pregnant, that
omission was not the cause of Salinetro's injury.
Salinetro didn't know she was pregnant, so Nystrom's
question would have not resulted in any difference.
This didn't meet the 'but for' test, since you
couldn't say that Salinetro would not have been injured but for
Nystrom's negligence.
