Mohan v. Orlando Health, Inc. – May 2015 (Summary)

NEGLIGENT CREDENTIALING

Mohan v. Orlando Health, Inc., No. 5D13–3869 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. May 15, 2015)

The Fifth District Court of Appeal of Florida reversed a trial court’s ruling dismissing a patient’s negligent credentialing claims against a hospital. These claims arose out of a medical malpractice lawsuit alleging that a physician had mistakenly removed a patient’s ureter instead of his appendix.

Although the operation took place at South Lake Hospital (“South Lake”), the patient had sued Orlando Health for negligent credentialing, arguing that Orlando Health was liable because it had assumed control of governance at South Lake. Orlando Health denied this charge and argued that South Lake was solely responsible for all decisions related to its medical staff and credentialing.

The court found that the contract between Orlando Health and South Lake did not conclusively establish that South Lake was solely responsible for its credentialing decisions. It highlighted certain contractual provisions that required South Lake to consult with Orlando Health in determining the qualifications and duties of its personnel and noted that Orlando Health was responsible for day-to-day operational management of the hospital.

In addition, the court explained that Orlando Health could be liable to the patient based on its business relationships with South Lake and with South Lake’s CEO and board members. Specifically, the court ruled that Orlando Health could be liable to the patient based on its partnership/joint venture affiliation with South Lake and ruled that Orlando Health might be vicariously liable for the actions of the CEO and the board members, since it had an employment relationship with these individuals. The case has been remanded to the lower court for further proceedings.