Doctor who referred a patient to a specialist had no duty to the patient after the referral.

Upon finding that a doctor who referred a patient to a specialist had no duty to the patient after the referral, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment to a defendant. In this medical malpractice action, defendant, Dr. Osunkoya, filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in which he asserted that he had no duty to the plaintiff after he referred her to a specialist and that his referral was not the proximate cause of her injuries. The trial court granted the defendant's motion, after which the plaintiff filed an interlocutory appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court. In making its decision, the Court considered the holdings in other jurisdictions that "[i]t seems to be the universal rule that a physician who . . . refers a patient to a specialist because the patient's ailment is or may be outside his field of competence is not liable for the negligence of the physician to whom the referral is made." The Court specifically noted that in this case, Dr. Osunkoya had no direct involvement in the plaintiff's care after he referred her to the specialist. Furthermore, the Court determined that any alleged negligence on the part of Dr. Osunkoya was not a proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury, as the full responsibility for plaintiff's care was transferred to the specialist, who acted independently in his treatment of the plaintiff when Dr. Osunkoya made the referral.

Case Law Alert -1st Qtr 2012