There are duties that the hospital (as a corporate entity) owes to the general public and to its patients. These duties arise from statutes, regulations, principles of law developed by the courts, and the interal operating rules of the organization.
"Corporate negligence is a doctrine under which the hospital is liable if it fails to uphold the proper standard of care owed the patient, which is to ensure the patient's safety and well-being while at the hospital. This theory of liability creates a nondelegeable duty which the hospital owes directly to the patient. Therefore, an injured party does not have to rely on and establish the negligence of a third party." Thompson v. Nason Hospital, 591 A.2d 703, 707 (Pa. 1991).
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Thompson recognized several nondelegable duties owed by hospitals to patients, such as the duty to:
- use reasonable care in the maintenance of safe and adequate facilities and equipment
- select and retain only competent physicians
- oversee all persons who practice medicine within its wall as to patient care
- formulate, adopt, and enforce adequate rules and policies to ensure quality care for its patients
A benchmark case in the health care field, which has had a major impact on the liability of health care organizations, was decided in 1965 in Darling v. Charleston Community Memorial Hospital, 211 N.E.2d 253 (Ill. 1965). The court here enunciated a corporate negligence doctrine under which hospitals have a duty to provide adequately trained medical and nursing staff. A hospital is responsible, for establishing policies and procedures for monitoring the quality of medicine practiced within the hospital.
Among other things, the Darling case indicates the importance of instituting effective credentialing and continuing medical evaluation and review programs for all members of a professional staff.
The Supreme Court of Arizona in Fridena v. Evans, 622 P.2d 463 (Ariz. 1980), affirmed that the hospital could be held liable for the negligent supervision of a physician where it has actual or constructive knowledge of the procedures carried on within the hospital.
The hospital generally owes a duty to ensure the competency of its medical staff and to evaluate the quality of medical treatment rendered on its premises.
