Rose v. Sprague’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

14 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The import of these elementary principles is that physicians when engaged and acting independently of each other in diagnosing and treating a patient, during different and distinct periods of time, each is only liable to his patient for his own wrong or negligence, but not for the negligence of the other, even though neither of them effects a cure of the patient’s ailment. “It may be considered in such case that the failure of both physicians to afford relief is concurrent, but such concurrent failure to effect a cure cannot and does not create a joint cause of action against them, simply because neither of them cured the patient, or achieved the result he desired or expected; when he separately engaged and received independent treatment at their hands.” (p. 642.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Cassity v. Brady

2. “It is very plain that the petition as amended states against each of the physicians a distinct and separate cause of action, occurring in the several counties of the residences of the physicians. [T]he allegation that [Rose’s] injury was caused directly by the concurrent negligence of the several physicians does not relieve the case of the fact that the pleading states an independent, separate, and distinct cause of action against each of the named physicians, originating, if at all, in the several counties oftheir respective residences.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Copass v. Monroe County Medical Foundation, Inc.