A patient in a German hospital is owed treatment at the standard of a specialist. The Civil Code requires treatment according to the generally recognized professional standards. In 1993 the Federal Court of Justice ruled on a doctor in training to become an anesthetist. If he does not yet have enough experience of a particular risk, he may not conduct the anesthesia without the direct supervision of a specialist, at least during that phase of the operation. The patient, the court said, has a right to medical care that meets the standard of a specialist.
In 1999 the same court described how the operating doctor and the anesthetist share an operation. Each must deal with the dangers that arise in his own area. Each may trust that the colleague from the other field does his work with due care, and there is no duty to watch each other. This holds only for dangers that belong to one field alone. Where the risk comes from the combination of the two fields, the doctors must coordinate their measures.