Green v. Pennsylvania Hosp. – Sept. 2015 (Summary)

OSTENSIBLE AGENCY

Green v. Pennsylvania Hosp., No. 36 EAP 2014 (Pa. Sept. 3, 2015)

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania affirmed in part and reversed in part a lower court’s grant of nonsuit in favor of a hospital and several staff members. The suit was brought on behalf of a patient whose death was a result of complications experienced after a tracheotomy. The trial court acknowledged that the patient presented expert testimony that one of the surgeons involved deviated from the standard of care, but it concluded that the patient failed to establish that the surgeon was an ostensible agent of the hospital, as is required under statutory standards for vicarious liability claims.

The supreme court disagreed, stating that the record contained sufficient evidence to create a jury question concerning whether a reasonably prudent person, in the patient’s position, would be justified in the belief that the surgeon was acting as the hospital’s agent when she rendered care. The patient first entered the hospital through the emergency room and was ultimately admitted to the ICU. Also, the patient was treated by nurses and medical staff once an emergency request was issued. The supreme court concluded that the grant of nonsuit for the nurse named in the lawsuit was proper; however, the grant of nonsuit for the hospital was improper and to be remanded.