Articles Posted in Apparent Authority

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The family of a man who died of a heart attack while hospitalized after an appendectomy was held not to have a viable medical malpractice case against the attending physician.

In July 2017, Timothy Dobine, 43, died while under the care of medical staff at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Ill. Dobine’s family sued in state and federal court.

The family sued the U.S. government under the Federal Torts Claim Act alleging that the attending physician, Dr. Morgan Madison, who worked for a federally qualified healthcare center, provided negligent medical care and was the proximate cause of Dobine’s untimely death.
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The Illinois Appellate Court for the First District affirmed the decision of a Cook County judge with respect to a jury verdict. In 2014, Jesse Perez, as independent executor of the Estate of Marilyn Medina Perez, filed this lawsuit against St. Alexius Medical Center, Jeffrey E. Chung M.D., Christopher Michael M.D., and Suburban Women’s Health Specialist Ltd., among other defendants.

At trial, only claims against these four named defendants were considered.

Marilyn Perez died from metastatic pelvic abdominal cancer seven months after giving birth to twins by cesarean section.
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This appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court involves a medical malpractice lawsuit brought against the hospital system, Allina Health System. The suit is based on the alleged negligence of independent contractors involved in providing care for a patient in the emergency rooms of two different hospitals owned by the hospital system. At issue is whether a hospital can be held vicariously liable for the negligence of an independent contractor based on the doctrine of apparent authority.

The state court of appeals affirmed the dismissal of the medical malpractice case on the ground that a hospital can be vicariously liable for a physician’s negligence only if the physician is an employee of the hospital. The Minnesota Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for further disposition.

The plaintiff, Alla Popovich, brought this medical malpractice case as wife and guardian ad litem for her husband, Aleksandr Popovich, alleging that her husband suffered a stroke after receiving negligent medical care in the emergency room of two separate hospitals owned and operated by Allina Health System.
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