Stanley v. McCarver
Decision Date | 30 June 2004 |
Docket Number | No. CV-03-0099-PR.,CV-03-0099-PR. |
Citation | 208 Ariz. 219,92 P.3d 849 |
Parties | Christine STANLEY, an individual, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Robert R. McCARVER, Jr., M.D.; Osborn, Nelson & Carr Portable X-Ray, Inc., Defendants-Appellees. |
Court | Arizona Supreme Court |
Karen L. Lugosi, P.C. by Karen L. Lugosi, Phoenix, Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Kent & Wittekind, P.C. by Richard A. Kent, Phoenix, Attorney for Defendant-Appellee Robert R. McCarver, Jr., M.D.
¶ 1 This case presents the question whether a radiologist evaluating a chest x-ray for a pre-employment tuberculosis screening owes a duty to the examinee, and, if so, whether the standard of care imposes on the doctor the obligation to take reasonable steps to make known any serious abnormalities he observes.
¶ 2 Dr. Robert R. McCarver, Jr., a radiologist, evaluated a chest x-ray of nurse Christine Stanley as part of a pre-employment tuberculosis screening. The prospective employer, Mesa Christian Care ("MCC"), contracted with Osborn, Nelson & Carr Portable X-Ray, Inc. ("ONC"), to take the x-ray. Dr. McCarver interpreted the x-ray pursuant to an independent contract with ONC. Dr. McCarver concluded, and wrote in his report, that the x-ray showed abnormalities: a "small nodule overlying the right sixth rib" and a "patchy consolidated parenchymal pattern superimposing the right third rib anteriorly and interspace." Dr. McCarver sent the report to ONC, which forwarded it to MCC. Although company policy required MCC to notify Ms. Stanley of the results within seventy-two hours, MCC apparently did not do so. Approximately ten months later, Ms. Stanley was diagnosed with lung cancer.
¶ 3 Ms. Stanley sued MCC, ONC, and Dr. McCarver, alleging that the Defendants "provided negligent and improper medical care" by failing to "timely and adequately diagnose and/or communicate to [her] the abnormality evident on her chest x-ray." She implies that she would have had a better chance of recovery had she learned of her cancer sooner and begun treatment earlier.
¶ 4 MCC declared bankruptcy and was dismissed from the action, and the trial court, relying on Hafner v. Beck, 185 Ariz. 389, 916 P.2d 1105 (App.1995), granted summary judgment to Dr. McCarver and dismissed ONC from the case. The court of appeals affirmed the order dismissing ONC, but reversed the grant of summary judgment to Dr. McCarver, holding that he did owe a duty to Ms. Stanley. Stanley v. McCarver, 204 Ariz. 339, 345, ¶¶ 21-22, 63 P.3d 1076, 1082 (App.2003). We granted Dr. McCarver's petition for review to determine whether he owed a duty to Ms. Stanley under the facts of this case. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Article 6, Section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution.
¶ 5 To maintain this negligence action, Ms. Stanley must show that Dr. McCarver had a legal obligation to protect her from injury or harm—a duty in the parlance of tort law. See Markowitz v. Ariz. Parks Bd., 146 Ariz. 352, 354, 706 P.2d 364, 366 (1985)
. Whether such a duty exists is a matter of law for this court to determine de novo. Id.
¶ 6 Despite the absence of a doctor-patient relationship between the parties, Ms. Stanley asserts that Dr. McCarver was required to use care and professional skill in reading her x-ray and to reasonably report the results of the x-ray. To determine whether a duty exists, courts examine several sources, including the state's statutes and controlling cases. Jefferson L. Lankford & Douglas A. Blaze, THE LAW OF NEGLIGENCE IN ARIZONA § 1.02 at 1-2 to 1-3 (3d ed.2003). But no Arizona statute addresses the issue before us and, other than the court of appeals decision in this case, no reported Arizona opinion has permitted recovery in the circumstances presented here. See Stanley, 204 Ariz. at 345,
916 P.2d at 1107 ( ); see also Felton v. Schaeffer, 229 Cal.App.3d 229, 279 Cal.Rptr. 713 (1991); Peace v. Weisman, 186 Ga.App. 697, 368 S.E.2d 319 (1988). The requirement of a formal relationship has never been absolute, however. More than a century ago, for example, a Massachusetts court recognized that a doctor's failure to properly diagnose a patient referred by another could result in liability to the patient for negligence. See Harriott v. Plimpton, 166 Mass. 585, 44 N.E. 992 (1896) ( ).
¶ 8 The requirement of a formalized relationship between the parties has been quietly eroding in several jurisdictions. See Betesh v. United States, 400 F.Supp. 238, 245-47 (D.D.C.1974)
; Dyer v. Trachtman, 470 Mich. 45, 679 N.W.2d 311, 314-15 (2004); Reed v. Bojarski, 166 N.J. 89, 764 A.2d 433, 442-43 (2001). It has been eroding in Arizona as well, and, when public policy has supported the existence of a legal obligation, courts have imposed duties for the protection of persons with whom no preexisting "relationship" existed. E.g., Lombardo v. Albu, 199 Ariz. 97, 99-100, ¶¶ 10-12, 14 P.3d 288, 290-91 (2000) ( ); accord Tarasoff v. Bd. of Regents, 17 Cal.3d 425, 131 Cal.Rptr. 14, 551 P.2d 334, 340 (1976) ( ).
¶ 9 Indeed, at least one Arizona case has held that a formal doctor-patient relationship need not exist before a duty may be imposed on the doctor. See Diggs v. Ariz. Cardiologists, Ltd., 198 Ariz. 198, 199, 201, ¶¶ 2, 14, 8 P.3d 386, 387, 389 (App.2000). In Diggs, a cardiologist advised an emergency room doctor regarding Ms. Diggs' care, knowing that the ER doctor would rely on the advice. Id. at 202-03, ¶¶ 20-23, 8 P.3d at 390-91. In finding that the cardiologist owed Ms. Diggs a duty of reasonable care, the court reasoned that while an "express contractual physician-patient relationship clearly gives rise to a duty to the patient, the absence of such a relationship does not necessarily exclude a duty to the patient." Id. at 202, ¶ 14, 8 P.3d at 390. We agree.
706 P.2d at 368; see also Green v. Walker, 910 F.2d 291, 296 (5th Cir.1990) ( ).
¶ 11 Although no previous Arizona case has considered the precise issue posed by this case, courts in other states have recognized that liability may be imposed in the absence of a doctor-patient relationship. In Green, 910 F.2d at 296, for example, the Fifth Circuit found, between an employee and the doctor conducting an annual physical, a limited doctor-patient relationship that was sufficient to give rise to a duty of care in conducting the examination and reporting its results. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has similarly recognized an obligation to report abnormal results obtained during a pre-employment physical examination, despite the absence of a doctor-patient relationship. Daly v. United States, 946 F.2d 1467, 1468 (9th Cir.1991) ( Washington law); see also Betesh, 400 F.Supp. at 245-47
( ); Meena v. Wilburn, 603 So.2d 866, 870 (Miss.1992) ( ); Reed, 764 A.2d at 443 ( ); Meinze v. Holmes, 40 Ohio App.3d 143, 532 N.E.2d 170, 173-75 (1987) ( ).2 Although the facts in these cases differ from those at issue before us, all these courts have recognized that in placing oneself in the hands of a medical professional, even at the request of one's employer or insurer, one may have a reasonable expectation that the "expert will warn of `any incidental dangers of which he is cognizant due to his peculiar knowledge of his specialization.'" Green, 910 F.2d at 296 (quoting Am. Mfrs. Mut. Ins. Co. v....
To continue reading
Request your trial-
Vasquez v. State
...of Phoenix, 216 Ariz. 454, ¶ 8, 167 P.3d 711, 715 (App.2007), quoting Markowitz, 146 Ariz. at 356, 706 P.2d at 368; see also Stanley v. McCarver, 208 Ariz. 219, ¶¶ 10, 12, 92 P.3d 849, 852, 853 (2004); Ontiveros v. Borak, 136 Ariz. 500, 508, 667 P.2d 200, 208 (1983); Wertheim, 211 Ariz. 422......
-
Cecala v. Newman
...to use the court's own ethical standards as a basis upon which to impose legal malpractice liability." Stanley v. McCarver, 208 Ariz. 219, 225 n. 6, 92 P.3d 849, 855 n. 6 (2004) (citing Ariz. R. Sup.Ct. 42, R, Prof. Resp., Preamble, Scope ¶ 20 (noting that rules of professional responsibili......
-
In re Quiroz
...as a state of public mind, so united and so definite and fixed that its existence is not subject to any substantial doubt.Cf. Stanley v. McCarver , 208 Ariz. 219, 227–28 ¶ 33, 92 P.3d 849, 857–58 (2004) (Jones, C.J., dissenting) (stating that in recognizing tort duties, we must "allow the l......
-
Sacco v. Am. Institutional Med. Grp.
...of reasonable care to the nurse practitioner's patients in fulfilling his or her obligations under the CPA."); Stanley v. McCarver, 208 Ariz. 219, 223, 92 P.3d 849, 853 (2004) (physician's paid agreement to interpret plaintiff's medical record as part of a pre-employment screening gave rise......
-
Teleradiology: images of an improved standard of medical care?
...at 308. (95.) Irvin v. Smith, 31 P.3d 934, 940 (Kan. 2001). (96.) Kuszler, supra note 5, at 311-12. (97.) Id. (98.) Stanley v. McCarver, 92 P.3d 849, 851 (Ariz. (99.) Id. at 853. See also Kuszler, supra note 5, at 311 (explaining that a formal duty exists when "the primary attending physici......