At the same time. She went into a coma from which she did not recover. The patient's estate claimed that the psychiatrist abandoned the patient by failing to appear at the hospital. In the absence of negligence in making the substitution, the physician is not liable for injuries resulting from the substitute physician's want of skill or care unless the substitute physician is in his employ or is his agent or partner . Some insight Note that what is at issue in these cases is not a technical requirement.
Intent plays a role.
In the worst cases, the physician or nurse is absent because of a purely selfish, personal motive. In Crowe v Provost , both doctor and nurse left the patient unattended so that they could have their lunch. In Meiselman v Crown Heights Hospital a severely damaged patient was discharged from institutional care because the father was unable to pay the bill. In Katsetos v Nolan , the obstetrician left to conduct his routine office visits. On the other hand, in Allison v Patel , the physician had to deal with a family medical emergency.