A majority of courts in the United States have recognized expressly that a hospital has a duty to investigate, select, and retain only qualified and competent physicians as members of its medical staff.
These courts have labeled a hospital’s failure to exercise this duty with a number of terms, including corporate or institutional negligence; negligent selection, retention, or supervision; and more commonly, negligent credentialing. Under this theory of liability, in which a patient is injured by an incompetent or unqualified physician, the hospital is directly responsible to the patient for the hospital’s failure to properly conduct the credentialing process—not for the negligent acts of the physician.
This week’s question and answer is fromNegligent Credentialing Lawsuits: Strategies to Protect your Organization, by Amy E. Watkins, Esq.
