Kayla Butts, Individually and on Behalf of Her Daughter, A. F., a Minor v. United States

Did the Appellate court violate Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 52(a) when it failed to consider all of the evidence before the trial court, inserted its own erroneous interpretation of the facts, and refused to recognize the errors of its ways when presented with them in its determination to reverse a well-reasoned and evidentiary based finding of fact by a knowledgeable, competent, and experienced trial court judge who had the opportunity to hear and watch the testimony at trial, to make decisions of witness credibility, and to appropriately apply the facts to the West Virginia law?

May an Appellate court reverse a trial court’s decision in an FTCA claim case by misstating crucial facts when the trial court, experienced in medical malpractice cases, renders a judgment on behalf of a minor child and her mother, when the evidence presented admittedly complied with the West Virginia law, simply because the Appellate court disagrees with the result reached by the trial court?

May an Appellate court reverse without remand a trial court’s finding on an evidentiary issue, namely the failure to present expert testimony, never raised by Appellee during the trial or through its own appellate briefing to afford the Petitioner an opportunity to cure the issue as a workaround to the clear standards of FRCP 52(a)?