Negligent-Credentialing Claims In Malpractice Cases: The Supreme Court of Ohio stated in its opinion filed on November 30, 2022: “The issue in this case is whether a hospital’s granting staff privileges to a physician (i.e., credentialing a physician) confers a duty upon the hospital that is separate from and independent of the duty the physician owes to the hospital’s patients, and if so, whether a negligent-credentialing claim brought by a patient can proceed in the absence of a prior adjudication or stipulation that the physician was negligent in his care of the patient. We conclude that negligent credentialing is a separate and independent claim from medical negligence. Nevertheless, a negligent-credentialing claim cannot proceed without either a simultaneous or prior adjudication of or stipulation to medical negligence.”
“Negligent credentialing is not grounded in vicarious liability based on a doctor’s liability for malpractice; rather, it is an independent claim that “stems from a hospital’s direct duty to grant and continue staff privileges only to competent
doctors.” Id. at ¶ 30. Though a negligent-credentialing claim is independent, our caselaw is patently clear: negligent-credentialing claims are not viable in the absence of medical negligence by the treating doctor.”
“Walling and Dr. Brenya decided to settle the underlying medical-negligence case. And Walling knew or should have known that one of the consequences of settling and dismissing the claim against Dr. Brenya without first obtaining a stipulation to negligence was the inability to pursue a negligent-credentialing claim against Toledo Hospital. The foreclosing of the opportunity to pursue a negligent-credentialing claim may appear unduly restrictive; however, we made clear in Schelling that any plaintiff who settles a medical-negligence claim with a physician without obtaining a stipulation that the physician was negligent is precluded from proceeding on a negligent-credentialing claim. And because negligent credentialing is an independent cause of action, even when a physician has stipulated to medical negligence, the plaintiff still has the burden of proving all the elements of a negligent-credentialing claim against the
hospital at trial.”
The Ohio Supreme Court concluded: “The caselaw is clear: a negligent-credentialing claim cannot proceed without either a simultaneous or prior adjudication of or stipulation that a doctor committed medical malpractice. Such an adjudication or stipulation was not present in this case.”
A dissenting opinion stated, in part: “The focus of this case should be whether Dr. Ransford Brenya’s testimony during the initial portion of the bifurcated proceedings created a genuine issue of material fact such that appellant, Michael Walling, could present the medical-malpractice issue during the medical-credentialing portion of the trial. But today’s decision instead raises the threshold for plaintiffs in negligent-credentialing cases beyond what is called for in our caselaw or justified by public policy. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.”
Source Walling v. Brenya, Slip Opinion No. 2022-Ohio-4265.
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of negligent credentialing in Ohio or in another U.S. state, you should promptly seek the legal advice of an Ohio medical malpractice attorney, or a medical malpractice attorney in your state, who may assist you in investigating your negligent credentialing claim and represent you or your loved one in a negligent credentialing case, if appropriate.
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