Kaiser v. Ohio State Univ.,
No. 02AP-316 (Ohio Ct. App. Nov. 5, 2002)

The Ohio Court of Appeals held that an attending physician was entitled to immunity when a patient who came to the emergency room complaining of abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea was discharged and later sued a resident and the physician for failing to diagnose a ruptured appendix.

The court reached this decision because the attending physician saw the patient for only four minutes and merely discussed the case with the resident, reviewed the chart, and signed off on an emergency room record. Accordingly, the court held that the physician maintained his role as a supervising physician and did not see the patient as his own private patient. In contrast, if he had taken care of the patient independently of his duty to supervise the resident, he would have exceeded the scope of his employment and exposed himself to liability.