The nature of modern medicine and medical negligence concerns forces many hospitals to take employment actions that seek to limit their liability for negligence committed by medical professionals. Typically, hospitals directly employ staff members, such as nurses, technicians, and paramedics, but when it comes to doctors and surgeons, hospitals often maintain work relationships with these parties through independent contractor relationships, not as direct employees.
The reason for such actions is based on the fact that in Texas, a hospital can be sued for negligence committed by any hospital employee, per vicarious liability statutes and the doctrine of respondeat superior. However, to address these attempts to shield liability and protect patient’s legal right to receive medical treatment per a standard duty of care, many states, including Texas, have implemented statutes and legal precedents that address negligence committed by non-employees (independent contractors or other forms of limited liability employment relationships) and hospital liability.
How Texas Addresses Vicarious Liability of Hospitals
In the state of Texas, a patient can sue a hospital for negligence committed by independent contractors on the grounds of what is known as ostensible agency. In brief, in order to sue a hospital for negligence committed by a non-employee doctor or surgeon, a patient must prove the following elements:
- The patient (plaintiff) reasonably believed that an attending physician was an agent, staff member, or employee of the hospital facility where treatment was being administered
- The patient obtained this reasonable belief based on the fact that the hospital affirmatively held out the physician as an employee, agent, or staff member
- And, the patient reasonably and justifiably relied on this information and representation at the time of treatment
In short, the ability of a patient to sue a hospital for the negligence committed by an individual medical professional is based on the relationship between that individual and a hospital, as well as a case-specific determination on whether this relationship constituted ostensible agency per the standards of the state of Texas.
Talk to a Medical Malpractice Attorney
Patients should be aware that they do have legal rights to file suit against a hospital itself, and not an individual medical professional, in certain cases, such as those involving premises liability claims or negligence attributable to direct employees. As a patient, the only method to determine one’s exact legal rights is through consulting with a medical malpractice lawyer in the state of Texas.
