Moore v. Carrington, 59918
| Decision Date | 02 September 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 59918,59918 |
| Citation | 155 Ga.App. 12,270 S.E.2d 222 |
| Parties | MOORE et al. v. CARRINGTON et al. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Robert John White, Atlanta, for appellants.
Sidney F. Wheeler, Atlanta, for appellees.
This is a medical malpractice action against a physician and a private hospital for their alleged negligence in failing to prevent the onset of severe brain damage in a 5-month old infant who lapsed into a coma and shock for reasons which are not clear. The gist of the complaint for purposes of this appeal is that the infant's physician, along with the hospital personnel who assisted him in treating the child, wasted valuable time performing a diagnostic procedure when they should have been performing resuscitory procedures to insure the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the brain. The trial court directed a verdict in favor of the hospital, and the jury returned a verdict in favor of the physician. The appeal is from the denial of the plaintiffs' motion for new trial. Held :
1. We find no evidence of negligence on the part of the hospital or any of its employees and thus affirm the direction of the verdict in the hospital's favor.
The plaintiffs concede that the attending physician in this case was an independent contractor rather than an employee of the hospital, and they do not allege that the hospital was negligent in having him on its staff or that it undertook to direct him in his treatment of the patient. Accordingly, the hospital cannot be held liable for his alleged negligence. See Georgia Osteopathic Hosp., Inc. v. Hollingsworth, 242 Ga. 522, 250 S.E.2d 433 (1978); Clary v. Hospital Auth. of the City of Marietta, 106 Ga.App. 134(1), 126 S.E.2d 470 (1962).
We similarly find no basis for holding the hospital liable for the alleged negligence of the nurse who assisted the physician in the emergency room. "A non-charitable hospital is liable for the negligence of its nurses, orderlies and other employees, in the performance of mere administrative or clerical duties which, though constituting a part of the patient's prescribed medical treatment, do not require the application of specialized technique or the understanding of a skilled physician or surgeon and which duties are not performed under the direct supervision of the attending physician." Porter v. Patterson, 107 Ga.App. 64(1)(a), 129 S.E.2d 70 (1962). See also Su v. Perkins, 133 Ga.App. 474, 211 S.E.2d 421 (1974); Miller v. Atkins, 142 Ga.App. 618, 236 S.E.2d 838 (1977). If the nurse in question made any errors, they were clearly errors of judgment relating to medical diagnosis and treatment rather than errors of an administrative or clerical nature. Furthermore, the parties stipulated at trial that whatever was done at the hospital was done under the physician's direction and control. There is no evidence that the nurse or any other hospital employee ever questioned his authority or acted beyond it.
Finally, there is no evidentiary basis for a conclusion that the hospital's staff or equipment was inadequate to...
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