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Circuit Court for Anne Arundel Co. IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND No. 88 September Term, 1999 ______________________________________

DARWIN GREEN, A MINOR, ET AL. v. NORTH ARUNDEL HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION, INC., ET AL.

______________________________________ Bell, C.J. Eldridge *Rodowsky Raker Wilner Cathell Harrell, JJ. ______________________________________ Opinion by Wilner, J., Rodowsky, J., concurs and dissents, Bell, C.J., dissents ______________________________________ Filed: November 27, 2001 *Rodowsky, J., now retired, participated in the hearing and conference of this case while an active member of this Court; after being recalled pursuant to the Constitution, Article IV, Section 3A, he also participated in the decision and adoption of this opinion.

Before us is a medical malpractice action that commenced in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City but was eventually tried in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. Through his parents, the severely injured plaintiff, Darwin Green, sued respondents, North Arundel Hospital Association (NAHA) and Drs. Richard T. Fields, Stewart P. Axelbaum, and Hashad R. Mody. Because liability was in significant dispute and the injury allegedly resulting from the

defendants' conduct was severe, the court bifurcated the case, undoubtedly to avoid potential prejudice to the defendants, and proceeded first on the issues of liability. At the conclusion

of the plaintiff's case as to liability, the court dismissed the action against NAHA and Mody on the ground that there was legally insufficient evidence of negligence on their part that contributed to Darwin's injury, and at the end of the entire case on liability, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the other two defendants, Drs. Fields and Axelbaum. The issue of damages was thus never submitted to the jury. Plaintiff appealed to the Court of Special Appeals, which affirmed the Circuit Court judgments. Green v. North Arundel Hospital , 126 Md. App. 394, 730 A.2d 221 (1999). We granted certiorari to consider two basic issues: (1) whether the Circuit Courts in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County properly concluded that venue lay in Anne Arundel County, and (2) whether the trial court erred in precluding Darwin, who, as a result of his injury, was essentially in a motionless vegetative state, unable either to communicate or to understand the proceeding, from being brought into the courtroom for a period of less than an hour during the two-week trial as to liability, to be exhibited to the jury "to demonstrate his current condition." Convinced that there was no error in either regard, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals.

BACKGROUND Darwin Green was born on February 12, 1977 and was 20 at the time of trial. He was born with hydrocephalus

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