Captain of The Ship Doctrine

Captain of the Ship Doctrine
Legal Medicine
Submitted by: Graciano D. Roquero Jr.

Joycel Aguilar
(Reporters)
Submitted to: Dr./Atty. Montemayor
CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP DOCTRINE
Under the “Captain of the ship” Doctrine, the surgeon is likened to a ship captain who must not
only be responsible for the safety of the crew but also of the passengers of the vessel. The head surgeon
is made responsible for everything that goes wrong within the four corners of the operating room. It
enunciates the liability of the surgeon not only for the wrongful acts of those who are under his physical
control but also those wherein he has extension of control. Thus, a head surgeon is responsible for the
acts of all surgical team members under his watch, such as the anaesthesiologist, support surgeons and
nurses.
In the case of Ramos v. Court of Appeals case, the doctor who has made liable under the
“captain of the ship” doctrine sought reconsideration of the ruling arguing that the trend in American
jurisprudence has been to reject the doctrine in the light of medical practice. The doctor cited Thomas v.
Raleigh General Hospital were the court of the United States rejected the application of the doctrine
citing the fact that the field of medicine has become specialized such that the surgeons can no longer be
deemed as having control over the other personnel in the operating room. It held that an assignment of
liability based on actual control more realistically reflects the actual relationship which exists in a
modern operating room. It held that an assignment of liability based on actual control more realistically
reflects the actual relationship which exists in a modern operating room.
Nevertheless, the Supreme Court rejected the argument of the doctor ruling that the fact that
there is such a trend in the United States does not mean that it will ipso facto follow said trend. The
Supreme Court ruled that due regard, for the peculiar factual circumstances obtaining in the case,
justifies the application of the Captain-of-the-Ship doctrine. The Court pointed out that the from the
facts on the record, it can be logically inferred that the doctor in question exercised a certain degree of,
at the very least, supervision over the procedure then being performed on the patient
We find the Captain of the Ship Doctrine as somewhat oppressive in the sense that liability is
totally centralized on one actor, the head surgeon. We believe that liability should be dependent on the
antecedents or the facts of the case. A head surgeon should only be held liable solely when he acted in a
manner wherein complications brought by an operation could have been avoided if steps were taken to
assess the situation before, during and after the operation. A head surgeon should only be liable for an
operational mishap if he failed to provide a specific approach as to how the operation will be
undertaken, through a pre-operation briefing.
We agree with the jurisprudence provided by Thomas vs. Raleigh General Hospital. Because of
the modern development in the field of medicine. Each member of a surgical team are specially trained
in their respective fields. Like we mentioned, the above doctrine mentioned, to be applicable, should
satisfy the requirement that all members of the surgical team are clearly briefed as to how the operation
will be performed. The head surgeon needs to focus on the operation being conducted and should not be
disturbed with tasks that can be immediately addressed by specific members of the team who are
specially trained in their respective fields.
In conclusion, the Captain of the Ship doctrine should only be applied if the head surgeon was in
remiss with his duty to adequately and properly brief the surgical team. The Supreme Court was correct
in applying the doctrine in Ramos vs. CA. The doctor in the said case was totally in remiss of his duty to
adequately be in control of the operation. He was even 3 hours late since he came from an operation
with another patient set at the same time with the patient in the case.

Captain of The Ship Doctrine

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Captain of The Ship Doctrine

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Captain of The Ship Doctrine

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Captain of the Ship Doctrine

Submitted by: Graciano D. Roquero Jr.

You might also like