Abstract
This Note examines the North Carolina Supreme Court's decision in Harris v. Miller. First, the Note addresses the facts of the case. Second, it discusses the rules courts traditionally have used to impose vicarious liability under respondeat superior, the borrowed servant rule, and tests courts have established to determine whether the borrowed servant rule even applies. Next, the Note analyzes the Harris court's rejection of the "captain-of-the- ship" doctrine, the professionals approach, and the application of the "right to control" test. Finally, the Note concludes that North Carolina has charted a middle course; a course which recognizes that reality is at odds with the assumption that a surgeon has the complete right of control over all other personnel in the operating room, but a course that refuses to treat specialists as independent contractors under the professionals approach.
Recommended Citation
J. Scott Coalter, The Vicarious Liability of a Physician for the Negligence of Other Medical Professionals - North Carolina Charts a Middle Course - The Effect of Harris v. Miller, 17 Campbell L. Rev. 375 (1995).