Medical staffs need autonomy

A California case seeks to protect hospital staff independence.

Editorial. Sept. 15, 2003.

The recent refusal of a California court to dismiss a lawsuit against a hospital by its medical staff is a significant win for the doctors who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. It also will come in handy for hospital staffs that find themselves facing similar future battles -- a near-certainty given the health care system's economic realities.

Medical staff members at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, Calif., sued the hospital alleging that it was putting financial gain above the interests of patients and trying to destroy the legally recognized role of the medical staff in protecting the hospital's patients.

The hospital moved to dismiss, citing a 2002 New Hampshire Supreme Court ruling in Windt v. Exeter Hospital holding that hospital medical staffs are subordinate administrative units legally incapable of suing the hospital or its trustees.

The Superior Court of California, County of Ventura, refused to apply the New Hampshire ruling to the case, deciding instead that the Community Hospital medical staff had legal standing to sue as an unincorporated association under California law. Their ruling guarantees that courts who intervene in these disputes will have at least dueling opinions to consider as they draft their own.