Moreno v. Quintana (Summary)

NEGLIGENT CREDENTIALING

Moreno v. Quintana, No. 08-06-00134-CV ( Tex. App. Mar. 10, 2010)

The Court of Appeals of Texas ruled that a hospital could be liable for negligently credentialing a physician assistant ("PA"). Further, the court ruled that the plaintiff did not have to show that the hospital acted with "malice," as required for negligent credentialing claims involving physicians.

The plaintiffs alleged that the defendant medical center’s negligent credentialing of a PA contributed to the death of their daughter at that medical center. The plaintiffs’ daughter was admitted to the defendant medical center with "uncontrolled hypertension" and "respiratory distress." A PA transferred her to an intensive care unit, where she expired several hours later from "complications related to intubation." The plaintiffs alleged that the medical center had failed to "properly evaluate" the PA to ensure that he could treat patients requiring high levels of care. Relying on Texas Supreme Court opinions, this court of appeals first found that, "although Texas may not formally recognize an independent, common law, cause of action for negligent credentialing," negligent credentialing is an "actionable theory of liability" in suits for medical malpractice. The court then held that the medical center was not immune from suits directed at its credentialing process because the relevant statutes, which provide immunity from most suits directed at the physician credentialing process, do not apply to the credentialing of PAs.