A case involving the alleged failure of a physician to diagnose a patient’s hereditary cardiac condition and advise of the risk to the patient’s son raises once again the issue of the scope of physician liability for harm to third-party nonpatients.
Elements of a Prima Facie Medical Negligence Case
Under Pennsylvania law, in order to make out a prima facie case in a medical negligence action, the plaintiff needs to prove: (1) a duty of care running to the plaintiff; (2) a breach of that duty (i.e., departure from the standard of care); (3) the breach caused harm to the plaintiff (in a medical negligence action this element can be satisfied through the doctrine of increased risk of harm); and (4) damages suffered by the plaintiff as a direct result of the harm.
Duty of Care
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