Damme C
J Occup Med. 1978 Apr;20(4):251-4.
Is a physician civilly liable for failure to diagnose an occupational disease in his patient? Under principles of common-law tort, physicians are held to certain standards of care in treatment. When that standard is breached and a patient is injured, a negligence action may lie. Might a court find that a physician has breached that standard of care if he fails to include in his examination of thorough work history and evaluation of job exposures to toxic chemicals? A number of medical malpractice cases involving standards of care are analyzed and parallels are drawn to the occupational disease context. Although it is impossible to predict how courts will rule in a given case, it appears that it would be prudent for a physician to delve more deeply into his patient's work experience when a patient presents with puzzling symptoms. The standard use of a thorough work history might also lead to early discovery of an industry-wide or community-wide health problem.
医生若未能诊断出其患者的职业病，是否需承担民事责任？根据普通法侵权行为的原则，医生在治疗过程中需遵循一定的护理标准。当该标准被违反且患者受到伤害时，可能会引发过失诉讼。如果医生在对患者进行检查时未全面了解工作经历以及未评估其接触有毒化学物质的情况，法院是否会认定该医生违反了护理标准呢？本文分析了一些涉及护理标准的医疗事故案例，并将其与职业病情况进行了对比。尽管无法预测法院在某一特定案件中的裁决，但当患者出现令人困惑的症状时，医生更深入地探究患者的工作经历似乎是审慎之举。全面了解工作经历的标准做法也可能有助于早期发现行业范围或社区范围的健康问题。
