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Crisp Regional Hospital9/23/2005
on January 31, 2002, at the Crisp Regional Hospital clinic. Dr. Thomas, who also worked at the clinic, was not present at the clinic on January 31. Oliver told Dr. Sewell on January 31 that he was experiencing back pain and numbness in his lower extremities as a result of his work-related back injury, and Dr. Sewell ordered an MRI scan for Oliver. On the same day, Dr. Sewell was informed by Crisp Regional that it would not perform an MRI on his order because he was not on the workers' compensation panel of physicians authorized to order an MRI for Oliver's work-related injury. Dr. Thomas, who was on the workers' compensation panel of physicians, arrived at the clinic on the morning of February 1, 2002, and was advised by clinic staff that the MRI ordered for Oliver by Dr. Sewell had been refused because Dr. Sewell was not on the Crisp Regional workers' compensation panel. The same morning, Dr. Sewell asked Dr. Thomas to review the notes he had made on Oliver's chart and to indicate his agreement that an MRI was necessary so that the MRI order would have Dr. Thomas's approval as a physician on the workers' compensation panel. Dr. Thomas reviewed Dr. Sewell's notes on Oliver's chart, agreed that an MRI was necessary, wrote and initialed the word "agreed" on Oliver's chart, and then either wrote the order for the MRI or co-signed the order previously written by Dr. Sewell. The MRI was not scheduled, however, until February 7, 2002. Dr. Thomas eventually saw and examined Oliver on February 5, 2002, when Oliver returned to the hospital clinic complaining of increased pain as a result of his work-related back injury. As a result of that examination and another examination performed by Dr. Thomas on the morning of February 6, 2002, after Thomas was admitted to the Crisp Regional Hospital, Dr. Thomas referred Oliver to a neurosurgeon who performed emergency surgery on Oliver on February 6, 2002.
It is a well-settled principle of Georgia law that there can be no liability for malpractice in the absence of physician-patient relationship. . . . In such cases, called classic medical malpractice actions, doctor-patient privity is essential because it is this relation which is a result of a consensual transaction that establishes the legal duty to conform to a standard of conduct. The relationship is considered consensual where the patient knowingly seeks the assistance of the physician and the physician knowingly accepts him as a patient.
Peace v. Weisman, 186 Ga. App. 697, 698 (368 SE2d 319) (1988) (punctuation and citations omitted); Bradley Center, Inc. v. Wessner, 250 Ga. 199, 201 (296 SE2d 693) (1982). Whether a consensual physician- patient relationship existed is generally a factual question for the trier of fact, but "where the facts are shown by such clear, palpable, and undisputed evidence that the [trier of fact] could reasonably draw but one conclusion," the issue may be disposed of by summary judgment. Walker v. Jack Eckerd Corp., 209 Ga. App. 517, 524 (434 SE2d 63) (1993).
Applying these principles, we find on the present record that a factual issue exists as to whether a consensual physician-patient relationship existed between Dr. Thomas and Oliver prior to the point at which Dr. Thomas first saw and examined Oliver on February 5, 2002. Crisp Regional referred Oliver to the hospital-operated clinic to receive medical treatment under the WCA for his work-related injury. Two physicians worked at the clinic, Dr. Thomas and Dr. Sewell, but only Dr. Thomas was on the workers' compensation panel of physicians authorized to provide treatment for the work-related injury. These facts are sufficient to support a reasonable inference that, when Oliver went to the clinic for treatment, he know
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