Mason v. Central Suffolk Hosp.

MEDICAL STAFF BYLAWS

Mason v. Central Suffolk Hosp., 2004 WL 2607611 (N.Y. Nov. 18, 2004)

The
Court of Appeals of New York held that no liability to a physician aggrieved
by a credentialing or privileging decision may be based on a violation
of medical staff bylaws, unless clear language in the bylaws creates a right
to that relief. After a physician’s privileges were suspended, the physician
sued the hospital, claiming the bylaws were a contract and the hospital
breached the contract by failing to follow the procedures in the bylaws.
The court found that the decision to suspend or deny the privileges of a
physician is a difficult one, and should not be made more difficult by the
fear of subjecting the hospital to monetary liability. A hospital may choose
to expose itself to such liability, but only if it is clearly written into
the bylaws.