No Duty To Non-Patient

In a medical malpractice action, the plaintiff must establish the existence of a doctor-patient relationship with the defendant physician, which the Oklahoma Supreme Court held had not been established when the treating doctor consulted with and relied on a second (sued) doctor. The court concluded:

Amedical malpractice action is one of negligence wherein the duty isborn from a contractual relationship. In a medical malpractice action,the plaintiff must prove a physician-patient relationship in order toestablish a duty owed by the defendant. A telephone conversationbetween a non-treating physician and the treating physician concerningthe patient, even when the treating physician relies on thenon-treating physician’s opinion, without more, is insufficient toestablish a physician-patient relationship. Based on the record beforeus, we conclude that Dr. Schlinke did not agree to or undertake totreat Crawford or Shelby and did not form a physician-patientrelationship with the plaintiffs as a matter of law.

The court reversed the court of appeals and concluded that the district court had properly granted summary judgment in favor of the non-treating physician. (Mike Frisch)