Also known as: respectable minority doctrine · minority rule · respectable minority standard
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A doctrine in medical malpractice that shields a physician from liability when the chosen course of treatment or diagnosis is supported by a respectable minority of competent practitioners in the same field. The rule recognizes that the standard of care is not limited to the single most common practice and that bad outcomes alone do not establish negligence.
Dr. Raymond Ramos administered the DPT vaccine to a child who later suffered a brain injury. Although the majority of physicians preferred a different schedule, a respectable minority followed the same protocol Ramos used. When the parents sued for malpractice, the court applied the respectable minority rule and held that Ramos met the standard of care because his approach enjoyed support from competent colleagues.
Dr. Roger Ramirez performed a procedure using a method endorsed by a respectable minority of surgeons in his specialty. The patient suffered complications and sued, alleging the technique fell below the standard of care. Because the method was accepted by a competent minority of practitioners, the respectable minority rule protected Ramirez from liability even though most physicians preferred another approach.
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The national standard requires a physician to exercise the skill of a reasonably competent practitioner in the same field under similar circumstances. The respectable minority rule provides an additional defense: even if the physician's conduct deviates from the most common practice, liability is avoided when the chosen course is accepted by a respectable minority of competent physicians.
The rule applies to both diagnosis and treatment. A physician complies with the standard of care by following a method or diagnostic approach that a respectable minority of practitioners in the field would use under the same circumstances.
The defendant must present expert testimony establishing that the chosen course of action is supported by a respectable minority of competent physicians in the same specialty. Mere personal preference or a single dissenting expert is insufficient.
…it was the limitations of negligence theories that prompted the development and expansion of the doctrine. The proponents of the minority rule, including the Court of Appeal in this case, argue that the knowability requirement, and admission of state-of-the-art evidence, improperly infuse negligence concepts into strict liability…