California legal term
Attending physician in California Criminal Law
Current through 2026 California legislative session
In California criminal law, “Attending physician” is a term defined by statute rather than by its everyday meaning. Its statutory definition — quoted verbatim below — controls how the term is applied throughout the California criminal code.
What does “Attending physician” mean in California criminal law?
“Attending physician” means an individual who possesses a license in good standing to practice medicine, podiatry, or osteopathy issued by the Medical Board of California, the California Board of Podiatric Medicine, or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California and who has taken responsibility for an aspect of the medical care, treatment, diagnosis, counseling, or referral of a patient and who has conducted a medical examination of that patient before recording in the patient’s medical record the physician’s assessment of whether the patient has a serious medical condition and whether the med (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 11362.7)
Statutes defining or using this term
Related terms in the same statutes
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.