Is Surgeon Liability Increased When Working With a CRNA?

 "The controlling factor in determining whether a surgeon is to be held accountable for a nurse anesthetist's actions is whether, based on the facts of the case, the surgeon actually exercised control or had the right to exercise control over the nurse anesthetist during the surgical procedure."

-Judith Jurin Semo, Esq., is with the law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, Washington, D.C., which serves as ASA's legal counsel

         -ASA Newsletter - December 2000 Number 12 Volume 64

"While surgeons commonly order nurse anesthetists to give anesthetics, surgeons have no affirmative obligation to control the substantive course of the anesthetic process. To the contrary, a surgeon may rely upon the nurse anesthetist as the anesthesia expert. A nurse anesthetist uses independent judgment in determining the appropriate kind of anesthetic to be administered, as well as types of drugs and dosages. Merely requesting that a nurse anesthetist provide an anesthetic is not in itself an act of "control" that will necessarily make a surgeon liable for a nurse anesthetist's acts."  (Surgeon Liability When Working with a CRNA, AANA)

The answer to the question is NO! The fact is, surgeons are no more liable for the actions of a CRNA than they are for the actions of a physician anesthesiologist - this legal precedent has long been established in medical malpractice case law and superior court rulings across the country as early as 1917 until present time.

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