LIABILITY LAW CASE

Liability Law Case

Liability Law Case

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that a hospital was vicariously liable for the actions of an independent contractor anesthesiologist under the doctrine of apparent (O'Brien 1998) because the patient reasonably relied on the hospital to provide necessary support services and was not made aware of the independent contractor fistatus of the anesthesiologist performing the negligent act.

The court's ruling suggests that a finding of apparent agency may be more likely in the context of traditional hospital-based specialties, such as radiology, pathology, and anesthesiology, than in other specialties. The Rush case involved Dr. James York, a retired orthopedic surgeon, who underwent three ...