Profession
Ky. hospital given immunity in malpractice case
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 5, 2004
A judge has dismissed the University of Kentucky hospital from a malpractice lawsuit, saying the hospital had sovereign immunity because it is government-owned, attorneys in the case reported.
A Kentucky man sued the hospital, two doctors and a scrub technician, claiming a towel was left inside him following surgery. But the hospital cited a 1997 state Supreme Court ruling that gave the university sovereign immunity in a wrongful death case because it is government-owned.
At a hearing last month, Fayette County (Ky.) Circuit Court Judge Pamela Goodwine dismissed the hospital from the malpractice case. The doctors and technician still can be sued, and the patient's attorney said the suit would continue against those parties.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/01/05/prbf0105.htm.