Profession
Minn. court: Patients can't sue on claim of credentialing negligence
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 18, 2006
The Minnesota Court of Appeals in a July ruling would not let a patient sue a hospital or its peer review body for allegedly negligently credentialing or privileging a physician.
Judges noted in their decision that recognizing a new claim for negligent credentialing "represents a significant change in the law that should not be accomplished without considering ... the effect of such a tort on the strong policy of confidential peer review."
The case, Larson v. Wasemiller, sparked interest in the medical community, which feared that allowing negligent credentialing claims would erode the states peer review laws protecting the confidentiality of discipline and credentialing decisions. The Minnesota Medical Assn., AMA/State Medical Societies Litigation Center and Minnesota Hospital Assn. filed an amicus brief in the case. The plaintiff's lawyer said they plan to appeal.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/09/18/prbf0918.htm.