The case involved a patient who sued two physicians in partnership after sustaining injuries when an unattended stretcher carrying her unconscious form rolled into an open elevator shaft at a hospital following surgery. The defendants had arranged the operation and assisted in moving the plaintiff but left the cart near the shaft while attempting to call the elevator. The trial court denied a directed verdict and the jury found for the plaintiff; on appeal, the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the evidence supported a finding of negligence because the doctors assumed a duty to safely return the patient to her room and the accident was a natural consequence of leaving an easily movable cart with an unconscious patient beside an open shaft. The court further ruled that each partner could be held liable for the other's acts within the scope of the firm's business. The decision rejected arguments that the precise accident had to be foreseeable.

torts & liabilityhealthcare