NEGLIGENCE – APPARENT AGENCY

Boren v. Weeks, No. M2007-00628-COA-R9-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. June 12, 2007)

The Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's order denying a hospital's motion for summary judgment, holding that the hospital's efforts to provide notification that a physician was not an agent of the hospital were sufficient to preclude a negligence claim based on apparent agency.

The husband of a deceased patient filed an action against the hospital alleging that a physician's negligence caused the death of his wife. He also asserted that the hospital was vicariously liable for the physician's negligence because the physician was acting within the scope of his authorized agency with the hospital and with the apparent authority to act on behalf of the hospital. The hospital countered that the physician was not an actual agent and that there was no apparent agency relationship between the physician and the hospital. In support of this assertion, the hospital presented proof that it took affirmative steps to disclaim any agency relationship by asking patients or their representatives to sign a form acknowledging that physicians are not employees or agents of the hospital. The husband and his daughter had signed these forms on multiple occasions. Therefore, the court found that the husband could not point to any conduct by the hospital which "clothed the agent with the appearance of authority" so as to overcome the hospital's affirmative efforts to disavow an agency relationship.