MALPRACTICE – CORPORATE NEGLIGENCE

Otero v. Vito, No. 5:04-CV-211 (M.D.Ga. Apr. 4, 2006)

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia found a hospital was liable for the negligent credentialing of a podiatrist who performed a cosmetic leg-lengthening surgery on a patient. The Georgia Podiatry Act does not permit podiatrists to perform elective cosmetic surgery.

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia found a hospital was liable for the negligent credentialing of a podiatrist who performed a cosmetic leg-lengthening surgery on a patient. The Georgia Podiatry Act permits podiatrists to perform surgery necessary to treat diseases, ailments, injuries, or abnormal conditions of the human foot or leg, but not elective cosmetic surgery. Therefore, the district court held that the hospital was liable for negligent credentialing, as it not only provided the podiatrist with the resources necessary to perform the surgery, but also credentialed him to perform a surgery that he was not legally authorized to perform.