Duty to Refer to Medical Specialists

I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

Today’s question comes from a caller concerned that her complications from a recent medical procedure were due to her doctor failing to refer her to a specialist.

She wanted to know her rights.

What lay people think of when using the term medical specialist is not necessarily the same as the legal definition of the term.

Under the law, a medical specialist is one who focuses their practice on diagnosing and treating a particular medical condition, consistent with the state of scientific knowledge at the time of treatment for that particular condition.

Where physicians hold themselves out as having special knowledge and skill in the field of medicine, they are bound to bring to the discharge of their duty to a patient, not merely the average degree of skill possessed by general practitioners, but that special degree of skill and knowledge possessed by physicians who are specialists in the treatment of such conditions.

In the caller’s case, she was concerned that all her medical issues flowed from a failure of her general practitioner to refer her to a specialist.

Under the law, a health care provider who is not qualified to treat a patient because he does not practice in a specialty, or lacks the necessary training or facilities, must advise the patient to consult a specialist.

While the caller may have a difficult time proving that her general practitioner was not qualified to treat her condition, if she can prove a lack of qualification, then yes, it may be that her doctor breached a duty to refer her to a specialist.

Nevertheless, to prevail in such as situation, the caller still would have to prove that her outcome would have been different had the referral been made.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”