Fjerstad v. Knutson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 district · 11 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 13 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Aside from the intern requirement, we do not believe that failure to have a license should, in itself, render the unlicensed person negligent. A physician is negligent if his treatment is improper, but failure to have a license is not enough to render the treatment automatically deficient. See Tittle v. Hurlbutt, 53 Haw. 526 , 497 P.2d 1354 (1972); Janssen v. Mulder, 232 Mich. 183 , 205 N.W. 159 (1925) (chiropractor); Prosser, Law of Torts 196 (4th ed. 1971). The same is true on the issue of the intern being called "Doctor". Although doing so may be a misdemeanor, it does not render Knutson's treatment negligent per se. The second contention is that Sioux Valley Hospital was negligent per se because it was practicing medicine through its unlicensed intern. We conclude that this contention is likewise without merit. According to SDCL 36-4-11, the intern must serve his internship in a hospital. Also, the fact that a hospital violates these licensure statutes does not in itself render the hospital negligent. ... The instruction involved allows Knutson to escape liability only if he made an error in judgment while performing according to the standard of care for licensed physicians in similar localities. As we noted above, the lack of a license, without more, does not render his conduct negligent. An error in judgment within the standard of care for licensed physicians would likewise not render the medical treatment negligent.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Turek v. Saint Elizabeth Community Health Center · Turek v. SAINT ELIZABETH COM. HEALTH CTR.

2. ““If a physician brings to his patient care, skill, and knowledge, he is not liable to him for damages resulting from a bona fide error of judgment of which he may be guilty. 'The law requires a physician to base any professional decision he may make on skill and careful study and consideration of the case, but when the decision depends on an exercise of judgment, the law requires only that the judgment be bona fide. A physician is not an insurer of the correctness of his judgment[.]””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Shamburger v. Behrens

3. “Aside from the intern requirement, we do not believe that failure to have a license should, in itself, render the unlicensed person negligent. A physician is negligent if his treatment is improper, but failure to have a license is not enough to render the treatment automatically deficient.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Mousseau v. Schwartz