Yes, Patients Can Directly Sue Your Facility
Under corporate negligence, you owe patients these 4 distinct duties.
W
hen you think
of malpractice,
you likely think
of a patient suing you for
the actions of your physi-
cians or staff, but patients
can also directly sue your
hospital or surgical center
under a doctrine called cor-
porate negligence. One of
the seminal cases on this
topic is a Pennsylvania Supreme Court case, Thompson v. Nason
Hospital (osmag.net/V4JBpk). Before this case, courts typically
found hospitals immune from malpractice suits. But in this case, the
court laid out 4 distinct duties that a healthcare facility owes its
patients. Generally speaking, if a plaintiff can prove that the hospital
breached any of these duties, the hospital can be held directly liable
to the plaintiff in addition to also potentially being held vicariously
liable for the actions of its doctors, nurses or other staff.
Maintain a safe and adequate facility
The first duty highlighted in the Thompson case requires hospitals
to "use reasonable care in the maintenance of safe and adequate facilities
and equipment." This may seem like an obvious responsibility, but when
you consider the expansive infrastructure of many larger institutions, it
can become overwhelming. Consider this: An elderly, fall-risk patient is in
a room equipped with bed alarms and other measures to ensure he does-
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Medical Malpractice
Christian W. Francis, JD, and Amy Redington Riley, JD
• CORPORATE LIABILITY When it comes to malpractice, facility liability starts and stops with your policies
and procedures.