HLT 520 Week 2 Assignment, Respondeat Superior Case

HLT 520 Week 2 Respondeat Superior Paper

Scenario: A patient had surgery and the nurse-anesthetist administered the anesthesia. The patient subsequently arrested and died while under anesthesia. An investigation concluded that the patient was not receiving the needed amount of oxygen and the nurse-anesthetist missed the changes in the vital signs until the patient was close to cardiac arrest. The surgeon initially had assisted in positioning the patient and had helped to administer some of the initial anesthetic.

1) Write an analysis (750-1,000 words) of the situation and argue whether the doctrine of “respondeat superior” would cause the surgeon to have vicarious liability for the patient’s death.