An hour after being discharged from the Emergency Room: A family physician's conflict of interest

Question for the Ethicist:
I am a family physician. A patient I'd not seen in months passed away about an hour after being discharged from an emergency room. Her mother, also my patient, asked me to review the records and autopsy to see if she should bring a malpractice suit against the E.R. physician and the hospital. I am friends with the physician and on the hospital's board. Ought I to comply with this request?
-J.R., Connecticut

Answer:
You should not. Indeed, you cannot – not properly, not without risking charges of bias. Your attachment to your friend and your position on the hospital’s board create – or may seem to create – divided loyalties. You should recuse yourself from this task, explain to the patient's mother why you are doing so and refer her to a disinterested physician with the expertise to review the records and advise her how best to proceed.

Update:
J.R. met with the family but did not offer a medical opinion, explaining that the records offered insufficient information for him to do so. He said he believed that they would not be satisfied unless the matter were investigated further and so suggested they speak to a lawyer who would have a neutral expert review the case.

Read about another ethical issue.

Thanks to Randy Cohen for the source story in the Ethicist column in the New York Times Magazine of May 25.