Lownsbury v. VanBuren,

Lownsbury v. VanBuren
C.A. No.#19365 (Ohio App. 9 Dist., August 2, 2000)

Plaintiffs appealed from a judgment of the Court of Common Pleas granting summary judgment
in favor of defendant physician. Plaintiffs sued the physician alleging that he
was responsible for injuries caused when plaintiff gave birth to a severely
brain damaged child, because he failed to supervise residents on duty and ensure
that the requisite prenatal care was provided to the birth mother. The defendant
physician moved for summary judgment alleging that, because he did not treat,
evaluate, consult, or even know of the mother’s hospital visit, he therefore
did not owe a duty to her or to the child because a physician-patient
relationship had never been established. The Court of Appeals of Ohio, Ninth
District, affirmed the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas holding that
reasonable minds could not have found that the defendant physician owed a duty
to the birth mother or her child. It affirmed the grant of summary judgment in
favor of defendant physician.