Verda Colvin
ATLANTA - Doctors who were supervising a medical student who mistakenly inserted a sponge in a woman’s rectum may be liable under an ancient doctrine holding masters responsible for the negligence of their servants, the Georgia Supreme Court recently ruled.
Partially reversing an appellate decision, the high court said even though the medical student wasn’t an employee, a jury may decide the doctors had the power to direct the student’s actions.
The plaintiff sued Dr. David Quang, who performed the surgery, and his assistant Dr. Tan-Loc Nguyen, plus their practice, Women’s Healthcare of Middle Georgia. According to the complaint, a medical student improperly inserted a sponge stick into her rectum instead of her vagina, leaving a fistula that allowed fecal matter to infect her vagina.
The student was attending the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, which paid Women’s Healthcare $4,000 per student to participate in medical training “clerkships.” The contract stated the students weren’t insured or employed by Women’s Healthcare. The contract also disclaimed any agency relationship between the clinic and the students.
Trial and appeals courts partially dismissed the case, holding the doctors and their clinic weren’t vicariously liable for the negligence of the student. The appeals court decision, however, had no majority, with one of the three judges agreeing only with the judgment and another dissenting in part.
The Georgia Supreme Court, in a May 13 opinion by Justice Verda Colvin, agreed state law protects medical students from liability if they work under the supervision of a doctor. Physicians may be liable, however, under the ancient doctrine of respondeat superior.
“A master-servant relationship can exist where a principal either has a right to control an agent’s conduct or assumes control over the agent’s conduct,” the court observed.
“The undisputed evidence showed that the defendant physicians instructed the medical student to insert the sponge stick into plaintiff’s vagina, visually confirmed that the medical student’s initial insertion was proper, and directed the medical student to manipulate the sponge stick as necessary during the surgery.”
The court reversed the appellate dismissal, ordering the case back for a jury to decide if the doctors were liable for the student’s negligence.