Gilbert v. Miodovnik

This medical malpractice case presents an issue of first impression for our court: when does a non-primary, or consulting, doctor owe a duty to a patient? 1 Specifically, we are asked whether Dr. Miodovnik owed a duty of reasonable care to Mrs. Saara Abdul-Haqq, a patient of the District of Columbia Birth Center (“DCBC”). We are not asked to decide what the standard of care is or whether it was breached, as the case did not proceed on that basis to summary judgment in the trial court.

As the majority correctly notes, in most of our previously-decided medical malpractice cases, there has been…