Ramirez v. Long Beach Memorial Medical Center
California Court of Appeal
2013 WL 1144257 (2013)
After Julio Ramirez arrived at Long Beach Memorial's (defendant) emergency room with a gunshot wound, surgery was delayed roughly three hours awaiting an on-call surgeon, and he died during the operation; his mother Herminia (plaintiff) had signed an admission form on his behalf disclaiming that emergency-room doctors were hospital employees, and the hospital moved for summary judgment based on that form, which the trial court granted, finding it precluded vicarious liability against the hospital.
Whether a hospital may be held vicariously liable under the doctrine of ostensible agency for its emergency-room doctors' actions, even though the doctors are independent contractors rather than hospital employees.