Medical providers and hospitals can be held accountable for medical malpractice if the negligent or criminal conduct of their employees results in harm to a patient. In a recently issued decision, the Georgia Court of Appeals explained the requirements for a plaintiff to collect damages for a medical malpractice claim arising from the improper conduct of a hospital employee.
The defendant hospital was sued after one of their employees faced criminal charges for falsifying medical test results and concealing the actual results of the plaintiff’s tests. The plaintiffs underwent mammogram testing at a hospital operated by the defendant, and the technician who was responsible for transmitting the test results to a radiologist for interpretation instead forged results, making it appear as if everything was normal without a radiologist reviewing the test.
The plaintiffs sued the defendant in state court, alleging that the hospital was vicariously liable for any damages caused by the employee’s conduct. The complaint claimed that the actual test results may have shown abnormalities, and that the employee’s misconduct resulted in misdiagnosis, as well as the burden of undergoing a second mammogram. The trial court allowed the plaintiff’s case to proceed toward a trial, and the defendant appealed.