Mendez v. White,

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE — VICARIOUS LIABILITY

Mendez v. White, No. 2006-03323 (N.Y. App. Div. May 29, 2007)

The New York appellate court reversed a trial court’s order granting a hospital’s motion to dismiss and held that the defendant-hospital had failed to meet its burden of proof for the motion in a vicarious liability medical malpractice suit against a hospital and physician. The court cited the doctrine of respondeat superior, noting that a hospital can be found liable for the medical malpractice of "physicians who act in an employment or agency capacity," and held that the hospital had failed to show "competent evidence establishing that [the physician] did not act as its agent, or that the Hospital exercised no control over him."