WALTER FITZER, AS THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF DIANE FITZER, DECEASED, APPELLANT,
v.
J. RUSSELL FORLAW, M.D., APPELLEE
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The court held that a third party can state a cause of action against a physician for prescribing controlled substances to a known drug addict, where the addict subsequently causes injury to the third party. The court reversed the trial court's dismissal of the complaint for failure to state a cause of action.
A cause of action can be stated against a physician who prescribes Quaaludes to a known drug addict, as it is foreseeable that the addict may drive an automobile under the influence and cause injury to innocent third parties.
[1] A cause of action can be stated in favor of a third party upon an allegation of prescribing pills to a known drug addict.
[2] A complaint sufficiently charges knowledge of drug addiction if it alleges the prescribing physician knew or should have known, with the exercise of reasonable care, that…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“if a doctor prescribes Quaaludes to a known drug addict, it is foreseeable that the addict may drive an automobile under the influence and cause injury to innocent third parties”
Establishes the foreseeability test for third-party liability against physicians prescribing controlled substances to known addicts.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDiane Fitzer was killed when struck by an automobile driven by a patient who was allegedly under the influence of Quaaludes prescribed by the defendan…
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LETTS, Chief Judge.
The trial court granted a motion to dismiss the complaint because it failed to state a cause of action. This appeal presents the question of whether a cause of action can be stated in favor of a third party upon an allegation of prescribing pills to a known drug addict. We answer in the affirmative.
Diane Fitzer was killed when struck by an automobile driven by a patient allegedly under the influence of Quaaludes prescribed by his doctor. The doctor was named as a defendant in the subsequent suit filed by Fitzer’s estate. The complaint inter alia alleges that this particular doctor knew or should have known, with the exercise of reasonable care, that the patient was a drug addict. This language has consistently been approved to sufficiently charge knowledge since it embraces both actual and constructive knowledge. It says either that the doctor actually had the knowledge or was informed of facts from which he should have known the ultimate fact of the existence of the addiction. See May v. Simmons, 104 Fla. 707, 140 So. 780 (Fla.1932); Dejernette v. M.D. Moody & Sons, Inc., 140 So. 2d 76 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962); Drake v. Sun Bank & Trust Co., 400 So. 2d 569 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981). Thus we have no difficulty whatever in holding that if a doctor prescribes Quaaludes to a known drug addict, it is foreseeable that the addict may drive an automobile under the influence and cause injury to innocent third parties. Indeed, even the statute immunizing tavern owners from liability to third persons has an exception in the event the alcohol is knowingly served “to a person habitually addicted .... ” Section 768.125, Florida Statutes (1981). Accordingly, we hold that the complaint before us states a cause of action in this one regard.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
DOWNEY and BERANEK, JJ., concur.
LETTS, Judge.
We deny the motion for rehearing. However, agreeing that the issue is of great public importance, we accede to the appel-lee’s request for certification and therefore certify the following question to the Supreme Court:
IS A PHYSICIAN WHO PRESCRIBES QUAALUDES TO A KNOWN DRUG ADDICT LIABLE TO A THIRD PARTY FOR THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE PATIENT IN DRIVING A CAR WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE DRUG?
DOWNEY and BERANEK, JJ., concur.
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J. Russell Forlaw, M.D. v. Fitzer, 456 So. 2d 432 (Fla. 1984)…PER CURIAM. This case is before us to answer a question certified by a district court to be of great public importance. Fitzer v. Forlaw, 435 So. 2d 839 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(4) of the Florida Constitution. Terry Loomis struck and killed twelve-year-old Diane Fitzer as she rode her bicycle on the shoulder of a road April 19,1979. Loomis was un…
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Cheeks v. Joseph E. Dorsey, M.D., 846 So. 2d 1169 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003)…decide whether the defendant’s actions created a foreseeable zone of risk, not by whether the specific injury suffered was foreseeable by the defendant.” See Fla. Power & Light Co. v. Periera, 705 So. 2d 1359, 1361 (Fla.1998). In Fitzer v. Forlaw, 435 So. 2d 839 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), quashed by, 456 So. 2d 432 (Fla.1984), this court considered the issue of whether “a cause of action can be stated in favor of a third party upon an allegation of prescribing pills to a known drug addict.” Id. at 839. In other w…
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Burns v. Three OF A Kind, Inc., 439 So. 2d 1004 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983)…sideration of the allegations in the complaint we must conclude [*1005] that it was error to enter the summary judgment. See Stevens v. Jefferson, 436 So. 2d 33 (Fla.1983); Willis v. Strickland, 436 So. 2d 1011 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983); Fitzer v. Forlaw, 435 So. 2d 839 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); Barber v. Jensen, 428 So. 2d 770 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); Migliore v. Crown Liquors of Broward, Inc., 425 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Burson v. Gate Petroleum Co., 401 So. 2d 922 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981). REVERSED and REMANDED. ORFI…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- May v. Simmons, 104 Fla. 707 (Fla. 1932)
- Drake v. SUN Bank & Tr. Co. OF ST. Petersburg, 400 So. 2d 569 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981)
- Dejernette v. M. D. Moody & Sons, Inc., 140 So. 2d 76 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962)