How can one determine whether there is liability on the part of the hospital, nurse, and/or doctor. Consider the following to be true in your analysis: ER doctors generally do not work for the hospital; triage nurses generally do not make discharge decisions; hospitals or clinics are generally liable for the actions of their employees.

1. A man reports to the emergency room complaining of shortness of breath, chest pain radiating down his arm, is diaphoretic and has a positive smoking history as well as a positive family history for cardiovascular disease. The triage nurse sees the patient and makes the determination that he has only indigestion and sends him home without seeing the doctor.
    
2. A person who has never before seen a particular doctor comes into her office and has a seat in the waiting room. He sits there for several hours before rising from his chair, bending over in pain, and collapsing on the floor in an unconscious state. The receptionist calls 911 and the ambulance arrives after several minutes to take the unconscious patient to the emergency room. Without considering what the person's medical problem turns out to be at the emergency room, analyze this example to determine if there was a doctor-patient relationship established. Was there a legal duty on the part of the physician or her employees? Did the person coming into the office create a duty? Was there some other fact you don't know that would determine whether there was a duty established?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

In the first scenario the hospital may be liable for the actions of the triage nurse as hospitals or ... View the full answer