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Keywords

lawsuitnegligenceverdictmalpractice

contracttortplaintiffdefendantnegligenceliabilitytrialverdicttestimony

Related Cases

Nelson v. Harrington, 72 Wis. 591, 40 N.W. 228, 1 L.R.A. 719, 7 Am.St.Rep. 900

Facts

Thomas Nelson, a minor, was treated by Charles F. Harrington for a hip ailment. Harrington, who claimed to be a clairvoyant physician, misdiagnosed the condition as rheumatism and treated it improperly, leading to Nelson losing the use of his leg. Despite the father's belief in Harrington's skills, the treatment resulted in significant harm to Nelson, prompting the lawsuit for malpractice.

The defendant answered that, during the time stated in the complaint, he had been what is commonly known and understood as a spiritualist and clairvoyant physician, and, as such, has treated diseases and ailments of the human body, and prescribed for patients calling upon him for treatment.

Issue

The main legal issue was whether Harrington, as a clairvoyant physician, could be held liable for malpractice due to his negligent treatment of Nelson.

The question has been raised whether this is an action for the breach of a contract, or one sounding in tort, for the alleged unskillful and negligent manner in which the defendant, as a physician, performed his duty to the plaintiff.

Rule

A physician must exercise reasonable care and skill in treating patients, as is customary among physicians in good standing in the same locality, regardless of the method of diagnosis or treatment employed.

The general rule of law is that a physician or surgeon, or one who holds himself out as such, whether duly licensed or not, when he accepts an employment to treat a patient professionally, must exercise such reasonable care and skill in that behalf as is usually possessed and exercised by physicians or surgeons in good standing, of the same system or school of practice, in the vicinity or locality of his practice, having due regard to the advanced state of medical or surgical science at the time.

Analysis

The court analyzed whether Harrington's treatment met the standard of care expected from physicians. It concluded that despite his claims of clairvoyance, he failed to conduct a proper examination or apply recognized medical practices, which constituted negligence. The court emphasized that holding oneself out as a physician imposes a duty to provide competent care, irrespective of the treatment method.

The proposition that one holding himself out as a medical practitioner, and as competent to treat human maladies, who accepts a person as a patient, and treats him for disease, may, because he resorts to some peculiar method of determining the nature of the disease and the remedy therefore, be exonerated from all liability for unskillfulness on his part, no matter how serious the consequences may be, cannot be entertained.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the jury's verdict in favor of Nelson, holding Harrington liable for malpractice due to his negligent treatment.

Hence the judgment should not be disturbed unless some material error was committed on the trial.

Who won?

Thomas Nelson prevailed in the case because the court found that Charles F. Harrington failed to provide the standard of care expected from a physician, resulting in significant harm to Nelson.

The testimony tends to show negligence and unskillfulness on the part of the defendant in his treatment of the plaintiff, and supports the verdict.

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