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This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

P was struck by a truck while working as a highway flagman. P was hospitalized, and surgery was performed on both legs. As a result of severe complications, P was transferred to another hospital where both legs were amputated above the knee. P sued D for medical malpractice. At trial, P offered the testimony of Dr. Joseph Lichtor, M.D. who testified as to his opinion of the requisite standard of care D should have used when treating P. He compared that D had been negligent. Dr. Lichtor testified that the cause of the complications and subsequent amputations was D's negligence. D offered the testimony of John J. Alder, an attorney. Alder testified that Dr. Lichtor's reputation for truth and veracity in the Kansas City area was bad. On cross-examination. Alder testified that he did some defense work in medical malpractice cases. He also stated that some of his clients in those cases were insurance companies. P then asked him to name some of those companies and D objected to the relevancy of the matter. The district court refused to allow further questioning on the subject of insurance. As plaintiff stated in his motion for a new trial, Alder was employed in part by the same liability carrier who represents D in this action. D got the verdict, and the court denied P’s motion for a new trial; P stated that a client of Adler was the same insurance company that represented D. P appealed.

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Legal analysis from Dean's Law Dictionary will be displayed here.