Opinion ID: 1679366
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Duty of CareIn General

Text: In Louisiana, [e]very act whatever of man that causes damage to another obliges him by whose fault it happened to repair it. La.Civ.Code Ann. art. 2315 (West Supp.1988). This fundamental principle tells us that he who causes a damage to another, by his fault, is obliged to repair it, but does not tell us, and can not tell us, when the author of the damage is at fault. When they spoke of any act, the authors of the Code had in mind the repression of the innumerable acts which constituted faults under whatever form they appeared. The framers conceived of fault as a breach of a preexisting obligation, for which the law orders reparation, when it causes damage to another, and they left it to the court to determine in each case the existence of an anterior obligation which would make an act constitute fault. 2 M. Planiol, Treatise on the Civil Law, Part 1 §§ 863-865 (1959). A physician has special legal obligations in connection with his profession. As any person, he is responsible for the damage he occasions not merely by his act, but by his negligence, his imprudence, or his want of skill. La.Civ.Code Ann. art. 2316 (West 1979). Additionally, a general practitioner is obliged to possess the degree of knowledge or skill possessed, and to exercise the degree of care ordinarily exercised, by physicians actually practicing in a similar community under similar circumstances; a physician practicing in a specialty is required to exercise the degree of care ordinarily practiced by doctors in that specialty. La.Rev.Stat. 9:2794(A)(1) (West Supp.1988). The violation of these obligations constitutes a fault which must be evaluated, taking into account the professional practices and customs by comparing the conduct of the author of the damage with the normal and regular activity of a person exercising the same profession. 2 M. Planiol, Treatise on the Civil Law, part 1 § 865A (1959).