Innovative Application of Section 1981 and Medical Staff By Laws as Contracts
Ennix v. Stanton (and Alta Bates Summit Medical Center) significantly broaden the use of 42 U.S.C. §1981 in credentialing cases. In this United States District Court case for the Northern District of California, the court denies the hospital’s motion for summary judgment, holding…
The Kadlec case is the latest in the trend to find hospitals and physicians liable for "negligent credentialing." The theory is that hospitals are responsible if they allow incompetent physicians to operate on patients at their facilities. This first phase of negligent credentialing has been on the books for almost twenty years.Continue Reading KADLEC REVERSED: HOSPITAL ABSOLVED OF NEGLIGENT CREDENTIALING BUT PRIVATE PRACTICE PHYSICIANS REMAIN LIABLE
Bipolar Physician Has ADA Standing to Sue for Medical Staff Privileges
In Haas v. Wyoming Valley Healthcare System, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania concluded that a physician had standing under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 5.04 of the Rehabilitation Act concluded that an…
Malpractice Plaintiff Obtains Peer Review Records
A United States District Court has decided that malpractice plaintiffs seeking recovery pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act are entitled to obtain hospital peer review records, regardless of state immunity laws. In Vezina vs. United States of America, the Plaintiff brought suit for personal injuries, allegedly suffered while…
Georgia Peer Review Decision Exhibits Rare Common Sense
Finally, there seems to be a peer review decision that exhibits common sense. In Madonna v. Satilla Health Services, Inc., and LeFever vs. Satilla Health Services, Inc., the Georgia Court of Appeals handed a peer review decision in a case pitting exclusive contract rights against individual…
TOO MUCH IMMUNITY IN PEER REVIEW!
An Iowa Appellate Court has reversed the earlier trial court decision in Estate of Horst G. Blume v. Marian Health Center, first reported in the MedLaw Blog on April 9, 2007.
The trial court previously held the hospital had breached the medical staff bylaws and was therefore excluded from…
PEER REVIEW NEWS: NEVER RESIGN PREMATURELY
Catholic Health Initiatives v. Gross is an excellent example of why premature resignations of medical staff privileges could have permanent adverse consequences. Dr. Gross was recruited by Centura Health – St. Thomas Moore Hospital, which is operated by Catholic Health Initiatives. Shortly after the commencement of the contract, Dr. Gross was involved…
PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL IMPOSES MANDATORY CALL
AND TERMINATES CLINICAL PRIVILEGES
Lehigh Valley Hospital has terminated the clinical privileges of three orthopedic hand surgeons because they won’t accept every hand injury case transferred to the Cedar Crest emergency room. The story was reported in the February 17, 2008 edition of the Morning Call and the full story can…
Levy v. Clinton Memorial Hospital, a recent Ohio state court case, confirms the longstanding concept that hospitals may close medical staffs or departments for quality of care reasons, but also reaches the absurd legal conclusion that medical staff bylaws do not constitute contracts and that clinical privileges are equipment specific.
FACTS
Clinton Memorial Hospital…
EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES CONFIRMED AGAIN
A Colorado Federal District Court has confirmed the applicability of the doctrine of exhaustion administrative remedies regarding credentialing disputes. In Catholic Health Initiatives, Colorado v. Gross, Dr. Gross terminated the hospital peer review process by resigning during the early stages of an investigation. The facts of the case indicate that…
