Kadlec Medical Center v. Lakeview Anesthesia Associates
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
2005 WL 1309153 (2005)
Dr. Robert Lee Berry, an anesthesiologist and shareholder at Lakeview Anesthesia Associates (Lakeview) (defendant), was fired and lost his staff privileges at Lakeview Regional Medical Center (LRMC) after he was found sedated and unresponsive during a shift, amid suspicion he was stealing Demerol. Berry then applied to Kadlec Medical Center (Kadlec) (plaintiff), which sent LRMC a letter and detailed questionnaire asking for a work history and evaluation. LRMC responded with only a bare-bones letter confirming Berry's employment dates, leaving the questionnaire blank and omitting the for-cause termination. Relying on that letter and positive input from Berry's former Lakeview colleagues, Kadlec hired him. About a year later, Berry was impaired by drugs during a Kadlec surgery and committed gross negligence that left a patient with severe brain damage. Only in discovery of the resulting malpractice suit did Kadlec learn Berry had been fired from Lakeview for cause. After settling that malpractice claim, Kadlec sued Lakeview, its shareholders, and LRMC for misrepresentation and negligence based on the omitted information. LRMC moved for summary judgment.
Whether a health care facility can be held liable for failing to exercise reasonable care in communicating a doctor's work history and performance evaluation to another facility, when the facility is motivated by its own pecuniary interests.