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Keywords

plaintiffdefendantverdict

contractplaintiffdefendantverdicttestimony

Related Cases

Small v. Howard, 128 Mass. 131, 1880 WL 10622, 35 Am.Rep. 363

Facts

The plaintiff suffered a severe wrist wound caused by glass, which extended to the bone and severed arteries and tendons. The defendant, a country surgeon with limited surgical experience, treated the wound for about ten days. An eminent surgeon lived nearby, and the plaintiff was physically able to seek treatment from him but was not directed to do so. Expert testimonies were conflicting regarding the adequacy of the defendant's treatment.

The wound was made by glass, and, as the defendant testified, the cut throughout the whole inside of the wrist extended to the bone, severing all the arteries and tendons. The testimony of experts on both sides was, that the wound was a very severe one and required a considerable degree of skill in its treatment.

Issue

Did the defendant possess the requisite skill and experience to treat the plaintiff's severe wound, and was he required to refer the plaintiff to a more skilled surgeon?

Rule

A physician or surgeon is not considered to warrant a cure but is implied to possess a reasonable degree of learning, skill, and experience ordinarily possessed by others in their profession, considering the advanced state of the science of surgery. They are not responsible for errors in judgment or mere mistakes in matters of reasonable doubt, provided they exercise ordinary skill and diligence.

A physician or surgeon without a special contract with his patient, is never considered as warranting a cure. His contract, as implied by law, is: 1. That he possesses that reasonable degree of learning, skill and experience which is ordinarily possessed by others of his profession, having regard to the present advanced state of the science of surgery.

Analysis

The court applied the rule by determining that the defendant, as a country surgeon, was only required to possess the average skill of physicians and surgeons practicing in similar localities. The jury was instructed to consider whether the defendant's qualifications met this standard, and the court emphasized that the defendant was not expected to have the same level of skill as an eminent surgeon in a larger city. The court found that the instructions given to the jury were appropriate and did not mislead them.

The jury, in estimating what qualifications are necessary, have a right to consider the average skill, learning and experience of the profession, properly so called, that is, of well-educated physicians and surgeons, exclusive of quacks and mountebanks.

Conclusion

The court upheld the jury's verdict for the defendant, concluding that the plaintiff had no grounds for exception regarding the instructions given to the jury about the standard of care required of the defendant.

The jury returned a verdict for the defendant; and the plaintiff alleged exceptions.

Who won?

The defendant prevailed in the case because the court found that he met the standard of care required for a country surgeon and was not obligated to possess the skills of an eminent surgeon.

The defendant, by undertaking, as a surgeon, to treat the plaintiff's wound, was bound to possess that reasonable degree of skill, learning and experience requisite to insure a proper treatment of the case, and to know enough to be able to judge whether he was competent to undertake the treatment of so severe a wound.

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