NEW YORK STATE COURT OF APPEALS DECISION EXPOSES PHYSICIANS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONS TO LIABILITY TO NON-PATIENT MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL COMMUNITY
The majority decision in Davis v. South Nassau Communities Hospital must be viewed as alarming to physicians and other health care professions. Physicians who administer or prescribe medication to patients must be prepared to document that they advised the patient of the foreseeable side effects of the medication, and, in particular, if the medication could foreseeably impair the patient’s ability to safely operate an automobile. Physicians must be prepared to document that they advised the patient not to drive while taking the medication.