Captain-Of-The-Ship Doctrine

What does Captain-Of-The-Ship Doctrine mean in American Law?

The definition of Captain-Of-The-Ship Doctrine in the law of the United States, as defined by the lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary is:

In medical malpractice law, a doctrine which makes surgeons, like ship captains, responsible for the errors of everyone in the operating room, even those who are employed by another, e.g. [the] hospital, and over whose activities whom they have no actual control (and, arguably, no right of control, e.g., anesthesiologists). The doctrine, which originated in and was largely developed in Pennsylvania, has been defended as an extension of the loaned-servant doctrine. But it really arose as an attempt to get recompense for the victim: the doctrine of charitable immunity once protected most hospitals, and lack of funds protected most hospital employees; if the surgeon and his insurer couldn”t be reached, the savaged patient would be out of luck. With the waning of charitable immunity leading to the procurement by hospitals of comprehensive insurance covering its employees, the need for the captain-of-the-ship doctrine, and its actual application, has similarly decreased.