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76 Cal. 304

Bute v. Potts

California Supreme Court

Decided May 28, 1888

California Supreme Court · decided 1888-05-28

<p>Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Santa Clara County.</p> <p>The facts are stated in the opinion.</p>

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““. . . A certificate or diploma could be no proof that he (defendant) acted with skill in attending a given patient, or that he did not so act. His services as to skill or the contrary must be determined by his acts and conduct in attending the patient. It is the manner in which the services are performed that is the test of their character.””

quoted by 1 later decision, including Martin v. Carbide & Carbon Chemicals Corp.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1888-05-28

How this case has been cited

Cited by 11 later decisions — most recently September 1975

11 state decisions

401888189019001910192019301940195019601970decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

Foote, C.

¶1This was an action for damages against a physician and surgeon for alleged incompetency and negligence. Judgment passed for the defendant, and from that the plaintiff appeals.

¶2Upon the trial the plaintiff offered as evidence (to support his contention that the defendant was an incompetent physician and surgeon) that the latter had obtained a certificate from the state board of examiners without an examination as to his qualifications, ancl that his certificate was issued “ upon the presentation of two diplomas” from certain medical schools, which were irregularly obtained. He also desired to show by a witness what the defendant said about his diploma.

¶3The court excluded the evidence, the plaintiff excepted, and now claims that the action of the court was erroneous.

¶4The case was presented upon the theory that the party-sued had been guilty of negligence, and lacked skill as a physician and surgeon. The fact that he had or had *305not certificates and diplomas as a physician and surgeon is no proof either that he had skill as such or lacked it.

¶5A certificate or diploma could be no proof that he acted with skill in attending a given patient, or that he did not so act. His services as to skill or the contrary must be determined by his acts and conduct in attending the patient. It is the manner in which the services are performed that is the test of their character.

¶6The evidence was immaterial and irrelevant, and the judgment should be affirmed.

¶7■Belcher, C. C., and Hayne, €., concurred.

The Court.

¶8For the reasons given in the foregoing opinion, the judgment is affirmed.

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