Ramirez v. Carreras

OPINION

Opinion by Justice DORSEY.

This case concerns the scope of a physician’s duty when examining one who is not a patient. We hold that when a physician examines a person for the benefit of a third party and no physician-patient relationship exists, the only duty owed by the physician is the duty not to injure the examinee. Expert testimony is not required in order to raise a fact question on whether that duty is breached.

Simon Ramirez filed a worker’s compensation claim, and the worker’s compensation insurance carrier hired Dr. Carreras to perform an impairment rating on him. Ramirez…