ED Legal Letter – December 1, 2007

December 1, 2007

• Vicarious Liability and Independently Contracted Emergency Physicians

  How can a hospital be sued by a plaintiff's attorney when the alleged negligence was committed by the independently contracted emergency physician?

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• Is your ED liable for patients' violent actions?

  If a man was discharged from your ED after being treated for injuries resulting from a fistfight, the ED record might state that the patient agreed to go into an anger management program and that he was given a referral to outpatient therapy. But most likely, it would neither document whether the patient had access to a gun nor other factors indicating that the potential for violence was assessed by ED staff.

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• Special Report: Spoliation of evidence and well documented ED records

  The medical record is an essential component of the physician-patient relationship. It is used to document the interaction between patients, physicians, and other medical and non-medical personnel. Without the medical record, it would be impossible to coordinate appropriate, timely, and continuous medical care.

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• What are legal risks of videotaping trauma?

  Many EDs videotape trauma cases for quality improvement and educational purposes, but some have put a stop to this practice due to concern about lawsuits.

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