By definition in New York, liability for medical malpractice long depended on the existence of a doctor-patient relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant. Over time there have developed narrow exceptions to the general rule. Liability for medical malpractice has been extended to non-patients, and it is useful to examine how this has come about.

In the 1987 decision of Eiseman v. State of New York, 70 N.Y.2d 175 (1987), the Court of Appeals reversed an award of damages which had been affirmed by the Appellate Division in a tragic case where two college students were murdered by a fellow student, a convicted felon who was in a program for disadvantaged students. The attacker had been examined by a prison physician prior to his release just over a year before the date of the assaults. In dismissing the complaint of the estate of one of the students, the court reasoned that the physician’s duty did not run beyond the school to students individually. Id. at 185. The court observed that in similar situations the universe of permissible plaintiffs had been restricted to prevent limitless liability to an indeterminate class of persons. Id. at 188. This was in conformity with the established principle that a doctor-patient relationship was required to create a physician’s duty to the plaintiff, meaning that in those days the doctor had to consent to treating the patient. Pike v. Honsinger, 155 N.Y. 201 (1898).

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]