Meija v. Cmty. Hosp. of San Bernardino,

Meija v. Cmty. Hosp. of San Bernardino,
No. E028795 (Cal. Ct. App. July 12, 2002)

The
California Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s judgment of nonsuit in
favor of a hospital that had been sued under the theory of ostensible agency
for the negligence of a radiologist who misdiagnosed the plaintiff’s x-ray and
the physician who saw her in the hospital’s emergency department. The appeals
court said: "[U]nless the evidence conclusively indicates that the patient
should have known that the treating physician was not the hospital’s agent,
the issue of ostensible agency must be left to the trier of fact."