In Turner v. Duke University, 325 N.C. 152, 381 S.E.2d 706 (1989) the plaintiff's decedent was admitted to the hospital complaining of constipation, cramping, nausea, and vomiting. Id. at 155-56, 381 S.E.2d at 708-09. The defendant physician could not determine the cause of the decedent's symptoms, and treated her for constipation. Id. The decedent's condition worsened over the following day, but doctors failed to examine her for a number of hours, at which point she was unresponsive. Id. at 156, 381 S.E.2d at 709. Exploratory surgery revealed that the decedent's colon was perforated, and the decedent died of a bacterial infection the following morning. Id. at 156-57, 381 S.E.2d at 709. The plaintiff's expert testified at trial that the defendant physician should have examined the decedent sooner, and that his failure to do so was the proximate cause of the decedent's death. Id. at 159-60, 381 S.E.2d at 711. The plaintiff's expert explained that if an examination had been performed earlier, the defendant physician should have discovered the decedent's perforated colon and could have performed a life-saving colostomy. Id. at 160, 381 S.E.2d at 711. The Court stated that "such evidence is the essence of proximate cause," id., and held that the trial court erred in granting a directed verdict against the plaintiff. Id. at 162, 381 S.E.2d at 712.