Corporate Negligence Theory of Liability in Medical Malpractice Cases

Summary

Although a healthcare facility will typically be held liable for the acts of its employees, generally a healthcare facility will not be responsible for the acts of its non-employed attending physicians, assuming no right to control the manner and method used to perform their medical services exists. One exception to this rule, however, that is gaining ground in the legal community provides that a hospital or other healthcare facility will be responsible when it fails to properly review the credentials and monitor the performance of its attending staff. This practice note discusses this direct duty of care of the healthcare facility to the patient, frequently referred to as the doctrine of corporate negligence.