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Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
AT A GLANCE
- Any person who shall practice medicine in the Philippines without having obtained the proper certificate of registration issued by the Board of Medical Examiners shall be considered as guilty of medical malpractice.
- For medical malpractice to be actionable, it must be established that medical negligence is present.
- The elements of medical negligence are (1) duty; (2) breach; (3) injury; and (4) proximate causation.
Medical Malpractice
Under the law, any person who shall practice medicine in the Philippines without having obtained the proper certificate of registration issued by the Board of Medical Examiners shall be considered as guilty of medical malpractice.
The law says:
“No persons shall practice medicine in the Philippines without having previously obtained the proper certificate of registration issued by the Board of Medical Examiners as herein constituted, or the lawful Board which was its predecessor, except as hereinafter stated in this section and in the next following section of this Act.” (Section 770, Administrative Code of the Philippines, as amended by R.A. No. 1885)
Jurisprudence says:
A medical malpractice suit is “an action available to victims to redress a wrong committed by medical professionals who caused bodily harm to, or the death of, a patient. The suit is proper whenever a medical practitioner or health care provider fails to meet the standards demanded by his profession, or deviates from this standard, and causes injury to the patient.” (Noel Casumpang, et. al. v. Nelson Cortejo, G.R. No. 171127, March 11, 2015)
For medical malpractice to be actionable, it must be established that medical negligence is present. In the above-cited case, the Supreme Court discussed the elements of medical negligence, which are “(1) duty; (2) breach; (3) injury; and (4) proximate causation.”
Professional and Legal Duty
Duty in general, as discussed in the case of Casumpang, refers to the standard of behavior that imposes restrictions on one’s conduct.
In medical practice, it requires proof of professional relationship between the physician and the patient. Without this professional relationship, a physician owes no duty to the patient, and cannot therefore incur any liability.
The legal duty of care exists once a physician-patient relationship is established.
When is a relationship between the physician and the patient created?
Jurisprudence says:
“A Physician-patient relationship is created when a patient engages the services of a physician, and the latter accepts or agrees to provide care to the patient.” (Casumpang, citing the case of Lucas v. Tuaño, G.R. No. 178763, April 21, 2009)
Breach of Duty
Breach of duty is the failure of the physician to exercise that degree of care, skill and diligence that ordinarily characterized the reasonable average merit among the ordinarily good physicians in the same general neighborhood and in the same general line of practice.
It consists not only of negligent acts, but also covers acts that are committed by fault through lack of foresight or lack of skill resulting in the injury suffered by the patient. (Dissecting Philippine Law and Jurisprudence on Medical Malpractice, Darwin P. Angeles, A Framework of Philippine Medical Malpractice Law, 85 PHIL. L.J. 895, 2011.)
Jurisprudence says:
In Casumpang, the Supreme Court held that “breach of duty occurs when the doctor fails to comply with, or improperly performs his duties under professional standards.”
Resulting Injury
The injury being referred to is bodily injury to or death of the patient, caused by reason of an act committed either through fault or negligence amounting to breach of duty on the part of the physician.
Jurisprudence says:
“If the patient, as a result of the breach of duty, is injured in body or in health, actionable malpractice is committed, entitling the patient to damages.”
Causal Relation between Negligence and the Injury
Jurisprudence says:
“To successfully claim damages, the patient must lastly prove the causal relation between the negligence and the injury. This connection must be direct, natural, and should be unbroken by any intervening efficient causes. In other words, the negligence must be the proximate cause of the injury.
The injury or damage is proximately caused by the physician’s negligence when it appears, based on the evidence and the expert testimony, that the negligence played an integral part in causing the injury or damage, and that the injury or damage was either a direct result, or a reasonably probable consequence of the physician’s negligence.” (Casumpang, citing the case of Jarcia, Jr. v. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 187926, February 15, 2012)
What is the “Captain-of-the-Ship Doctrine?”
The ‘Captain-of-the-Ship” Doctrine imposes liability on a surgeon for the actions of assistants who are under the surgeon’s control but who are employees of the hospital, and not the surgeon.
Jurisprudence says:
Under the “Captain of the Ship” rule, the operating surgeon is the person in complete charge of the surgery room and all personnel connected with the operation. Their duty is to obey his orders. (Professional Services, Inc. v. Natividad and Agana, G.R. No. 126297, January 31, 2007)
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