## Facts

- Janet H. Olson, a 23-year-old unmarried pregnant woman, retained Dr. Bob J. Molzen, an osteopathic physician in Knoxville, Tennessee, to perform an abortion.
- Before the procedure, Molzen required Olson to sign a broad exculpatory release purporting to waive any present or future legal responsibility arising from the abortion and related complications for 12 months.
- Molzen performed the abortion on September 21, 1973.
- Approximately two weeks later, Olson returned reporting nausea and not feeling well; Molzen examined her and told her everything was fine.
- In mid-November 1973, another physician informed Olson she remained pregnant and it was too late to obtain an abortion; she later gave birth on April 9, 1974.
- Olson sued Molzen for negligence arising from the failed abortion; Molzen asserted the release as a complete defense.

## Issues

1. Whether a physician may rely on a pre-treatment exculpatory agreement to bar a patient’s negligence action for professional medical services.
2. Whether such a release is void as against public policy when the physician–patient transaction implicates the public interest and involves unequal bargaining power.

## Decision

- The Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the grant of summary judgment for Molzen.
- The court held the exculpatory agreement invalid and unenforceable in the medical treatment context as contrary to public policy.
- The case was remanded for further proceedings on Olson’s negligence claim without the release operating as a bar.

## Legal Principles

- Exculpatory clauses may be enforceable in private arrangements, but they are invalid where public policy limits contractual waiver of liability.
- A release is void when it affects the public interest, including where (as identified by commonly used criteria) the service is regulated, important to the public, offered broadly to those seeking it, and the provider has superior bargaining power using a standardized, nonnegotiable form without an option to pay for added protection.
- The physician–patient relationship falls within the public-interest category because medical practice is regulated, medical services are commonly a practical necessity, and patients frequently lack meaningful bargaining power at the point of care.
- Professionals providing medical services may not contract in advance to exculpate themselves from liability for their own negligence, because doing so reduces accountability and weakens incentives to meet the required standard of care.

## Conclusion

The court held that a physician cannot use a pre-treatment, standardized release to avoid liability for negligent medical care, because the physician–patient transaction implicates the public interest and the resulting exculpation is contrary to public policy.


Olson v. Molzen, 558 S.W.2d 429 (Tenn. 1977)