Chapter 39: Medical Negligence
1. Turner v. Steriltek, Inc., No. M2006-01816-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 20, 2007).
The Court's Summary:
"This appeal involves negligence and medical malpractice. The defendant corporation does off-site sterilization of surgical instruments for the defendant medical center. On July 12, 2002, the defendant physicians were performing surgery on the plaintiff’s daughter at the defendant medical center, using instruments sterilized by the defendant corporation. During the surgery, an agent of the corporation informed the physicians that some of the instruments they were using might be contaminated. After receiving this information, the physicians stopped the surgery before it was completed. As a result, the plaintiff’s daughter had to return to the medical center at a later date, at which time the defendant physicians successfully completed the necessary surgical procedure. The plaintiff filed this lawsuit against the corporation, the medical center, and the physicians, seeking damages for alleged negligence and medical malpractice. The defendants filed motions for summary judgment supported by expert affidavits. The trial court granted the defendants’ motions for summary judgment on all claims. The plaintiff appeals. We affirm in part and reverse in part. We affirm the trial court’s grant of summary judgment as to the plaintiff’s claims against both of the defendant physicians and, accordingly, as to the plaintiff’s claim that the defendant medical center is vicariously liable for the actions of the physicians. We also affirm the grant of summary judgment as to the plaintiff’s claim against the defendant corporation for failure to provide sterilized instruments and batteries, and as to the plaintiff’s claim as a third-party beneficiary to the contract between the corporation and the medical center. As to the remaining claims against the corporation and the medical center, we reverse the trial court’s grant of summary judgment.
View opinion.
The Court's Summary:
"This appeal involves negligence and medical malpractice. The defendant corporation does off-site sterilization of surgical instruments for the defendant medical center. On July 12, 2002, the defendant physicians were performing surgery on the plaintiff’s daughter at the defendant medical center, using instruments sterilized by the defendant corporation. During the surgery, an agent of the corporation informed the physicians that some of the instruments they were using might be contaminated. After receiving this information, the physicians stopped the surgery before it was completed. As a result, the plaintiff’s daughter had to return to the medical center at a later date, at which time the defendant physicians successfully completed the necessary surgical procedure. The plaintiff filed this lawsuit against the corporation, the medical center, and the physicians, seeking damages for alleged negligence and medical malpractice. The defendants filed motions for summary judgment supported by expert affidavits. The trial court granted the defendants’ motions for summary judgment on all claims. The plaintiff appeals. We affirm in part and reverse in part. We affirm the trial court’s grant of summary judgment as to the plaintiff’s claims against both of the defendant physicians and, accordingly, as to the plaintiff’s claim that the defendant medical center is vicariously liable for the actions of the physicians. We also affirm the grant of summary judgment as to the plaintiff’s claim against the defendant corporation for failure to provide sterilized instruments and batteries, and as to the plaintiff’s claim as a third-party beneficiary to the contract between the corporation and the medical center. As to the remaining claims against the corporation and the medical center, we reverse the trial court’s grant of summary judgment.
View opinion.