The practice, labelled "defensive medicine" was highlighted in a medical negligence claim against a Leeton GP in the NSW Supreme Court this week, the president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) Andrew Pesce said yesterday.

Leeton resident, Sandra Thompson, 59, successfully sued her local GP for medical negligence and was awarded more than $290,000 because a judge found he should have ordered tests earlier.

"Cases like this demonstrate why defensive medicine might be practised, where a doctor does more and more tests to cover him or herself so that in the event something goes wrong, they're hopefully better able to defend themselves in court," Dr Pesce told The Daily Advertiser.

"However, doctors can be caught between a rock and a hard place. You can be reprimanded and fined and found guilty of unprofessional conduct for over-investigating and over-servicing."

The GP who treated Mrs Thompson, Dr Johannes "Bernie" Haasbroek has defended his course of action after the NSW Supreme Court judgement was handed down on Monday.

Whether the case proceeds further than the civil action remains to be seen, according to the NSW Medical Board (NSWMB).

NSWMB registrar Andrew Dix said there is not always a professional conduct issue for the board to examine when a patient is successful in a medical negligence claim.

"We look at professional conduct, not medical negligence which can often be technical but sometimes there is an overlap between the two. It's a possibility but not necessarily so," he said.

Earlier, a NSWMB spokeswoman stated that action by the board is generally triggered by a complaint to the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC).

"Our charter is to protect the public - if there is publicity about an event that suggests there is a threat to this, then the board would consider action," she said.

"There is a co-regulatory system between us and the HCCC and we review every complaint together to decide if any action is taken."

Legal representative for Mrs Thompson, Anna Walsh of Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, said yesterday her client was considering whether to lodge a formal complaint with the HCCC.