Grove v. PeaceHealth St. Joseph Hosp. (Summary)

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

Grove v. PeaceHealth St. Joseph Hosp., No. 69556-8-I (Wash. Ct. App. Oct. 28, 2013)

The Court of Appeals of Washington affirmed a trial court’s decision to overturn a jury verdict in favor of an injured patient.  The patient underwent heart surgery, and was monitored by a “team” that included surgeons and physician assistants.  The patient brought suit against the team and the hospital after the team failed to properly diagnose the patient’s post-surgery condition, causing permanent injury to the patient’s left leg.  The jury found the team and the hospital liable for the patient’s injury and awarded damages.  The trial court overturned the jury verdict, holding that there was no legal basis for the decision because the patient had not proved that a specific employee was negligent.

The appellate court held that the patient did not prove the relevant standard of care, stating that medical malpractice in the state was a statutory issue that required proving specific elements.  The patient failed to allege that the negligence of a specific healthcare provider was the cause of his injuries.  Further, the team as a whole, which included both surgeons and physician assistants, cannot be held to the same standard of care because the team did not belong to one single class.  The court held that the patient failed to prove that a duty existed or to which health care provider that duty fell.  The team as a whole could not be negligent, rather there needed to be a “negligent player on the team.”

The appellate court also rejected the patient’s argument that he sufficiently proved that the lead attending physician on the team was negligent in supervising the team.  The court held that the patient failed to demonstrate that the attending physician’s direct actions were the cause of his injury.  The court also noted that it would be impossible for the attending physician to negligently supervise the patient because he was on the other side of the country at the time and had left another physician in charge of the patient.  The attending physician was neither the employer nor the supervisor of the team, so he could not be held vicariously liable for their actions.