Lindsey v. St. John Health Sys., Inc.

TORT CLAIMS/PEER REVIEW PRIVILEGE

Lindsey v. St. John Health Sys., Inc. – Detroit,
Nos. 268296, 270042 (Mich. Ct. App. Feb. 6, 2007)

The Court of Appeals of Michigan granted summary judgment
to a hospital that was sued by a former patient for intentional infliction
of emotional distress ("IIED"). The patient alleged that during her stay at the
hospital, she was subjected to various rude and disrespectful behaviors on the
part of the hospital’s nursing staff, which included derogatory references, injecting
an unknown substance into the patient’s I.V., failing to respond to the patient’s
requests for assistance, and being "rough" with the patient on one
occasion. The Court of Appeals held that, even if true, the conduct described
did not rise to the level of "outrageous" required to establish an
IIED claim. The court also rejected the patient’s argument that the trial court
should have admitted into evidence a hospital "occurrence report" concerning
the complained of incidents. The court held that the report was privileged and
protected from discovery under the state’s peer review statute.