Tort Law

Brien Roche

This page within Virginia Tort Case Law is a compilation of cases reported by the Virginia Supreme Court and summarized by Brien Roche dealing with the topic of Physicians and Surgeons. For more information on medical malpractice see the pages on Wikipedia. 

Physicians and Surgeons-Statutes

See Va. Code § 32.1-38 indicating physicians and surgeons or other persons required to report certain diseases, shall be immune from civil liability unless it is shown they acted with malice.

Physicians and Surgeons-Cases

2000 HCA Health Servs. of Va., Inc. v. Levin, 260 Va. 215, 530 S.E.2d 417.

When legislature’s intent is unambiguously expressed in statute, then recourse to devices of statutory construction such as comparing it with other statutes within that same code section is not permitted. The fact that this statute dealing with peer review records was in the code section dealing with medical malpractice did not mean that the peer review privilege only applied to medical malpractice actions. The privilege for peer review records belongs to the peer review panel and not to the physicians and surgeons. The mere fact that a non-party has been sued and wants access to these records to prove the truth of allegations they have made is not sufficient to set aside the privilege in this defamation action.

1982 Teh Len Chu v. Fairfax Emergency Med. Assocs., 223 Va. 383, 290 S.E.2d 820.

Physician must exercise best judgment in application of his skill and in use of ordinary care. Terms “honest mistake” and “bona fide error” have no place in instructions to jury in malpractice cases.

1978 Strickland v. Dunn, 219 Va. 76, 244 S.E.2d 764.

Primary injury complained of was wrongful commitment caused by several acts of alleged negligence of defendants. Having joined defendants as joint tortfeasors in single action, plaintiff cannot later take inconsistent position that they committed separate and distinct torts. Usually it would be question for jury.