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Gaulden v. Green

Because the defendant doctor assumed an obligation to supervise and monitor the training of emergency room physicians and nursing staff on hospital policies and procedures, he owed a legal duty to the decedent to provide that specific type of supervision and the plaintiff was not required to prove the existence of a physician-patient relationship in order to maintain a professional negligence claim.

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Following the death of Deloris P. Gaulden in the emergency room of Liberty Regional Medical Center “LRMC”, her daughter, individually and as administratrix of her estate, brought this wrongful death and survival action against several defendants, including Bobby L. Herrington, M.D., the Medical Director of the LRMC Emergency Department.1 The trial court granted summary judgment to Dr. Herrington on the plaintiff’s claim for professional negligence on the ground that he had no physician-patient relationship with the decedent and owed no legal duty to her. The trial court subsequently granted summary judgment to Dr. Herrington on the plaintiff’s claim for ordinary negligence on the ground that all of the allegations against him sounded in professional negligence. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the trial court grant of summary judgment on the ordinary negligence claim. However, we conclude that Dr. Herrington owed a legal duty to the decedent based upon the specific supervisory responsibilities that he assumed over the emergency room staff in agreeing to serve as Medical Director, and, therefore, reverse the trial court’s grant of summary judgment on the professional negligence claim.

Summary judgment is proper if, and only if, the pleadings and evidence “show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” OCGA § 9-11-56 c. See Ly v. Jimmy Carter Commons, LLC, 286 Ga. 831, 8331 691 SE2d 852 2010. On appeal from the grant of summary judgment, we view the evidence de novo, with the facts and all inferences drawn from them viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. McCaskill v. Carillo, 263 Ga. App. 890 589 SE2d 582 2003.

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