Hurley v. Eddingfield
Indiana Supreme Court
59 N.E. 1058 (Ind. 1901)
Dr. Eddingfield (defendant), a licensed general practitioner who served as the family physician to Hurley's decedent, was summoned one evening when the decedent became violently ill; a messenger told him no other physician was available and immediate help was urgently needed, all of which was true, yet Eddingfield refused to come for no stated reason, despite having no other patients and no obstacle preventing him from helping. The decedent died shortly after, and Hurley (plaintiff) sued Eddingfield for $10,000, alleging his refusal wrongfully caused the death.
Whether a licensed physician owes a legal duty to provide medical assistance to anyone who urgently needs it and asks for it, particularly an existing patient with no other physician available.