Earlier this week, the Missouri Supreme Court decided a surgery center wasn't liable for approving staff privileges for a surgeon with undisclosed lawsuits against him, according to a Kansas City Business Journal report.
Four things to know:
1. A former patient filed a lawsuit against Saint Luke's Surgicenter-Lee's Summit (Mo.) after undergoing a procedure there and experiencing complications. The surgeon, who had lawsuits filed against him, damaged the patient's bile duct during surgery.
2. The patient settled with the surgeon, but also sued Saint Luke's Surgicenter-Lee's Summit, accusing the ASC of negligence.
3. The ASC contended in court that the surgeon did not disclose prior lawsuits during the application process, and filed a post-trial motion "arguing there was insufficient evidence presented to support a claim of negligent credentialing." The motion was denied, but the ASC then filed an appeal that lead to the Missouri Supreme Court's decision.
4. In a 6-1 ruling, the Supreme Court reversed the prior decision, finding the patient didn't prove that Saint Luke's was negligent in the credentialing process.