Neither the Medicare Conditions of Participation found in 42 C.F.R. § 482.12 nor hospital admission documents advising of independent contractor physician relationship impose a non-delegable duty on hospitals to provide non-negligent care and treatment.

The Second District Court of Appeal shot down the plaintiff’s claims seeking to hold the hospital legally responsible for the negligence of an independent contractor physician pursuant to the Medicare Conditions of Participation set forth in 42 C.F.R. § 482.12. The court concluding that those statutory provisions do not impose a non-delegable duty on the hospital to provide non-negligent independent contractor physicians. The court further held that a hospital’s admissions paperwork and consent to treatment forms that do not contain an express undertaking to provide care to the patient that the physician would provide and further inform the patient that the physicians rendering care are independent contractors and not employees of the hospital is sufficient to discharge any liability on the part of the hospital for the negligence of the physician under a theory of apparent agency or non-delegable duty. Godwin is a significant opinion, which is expected to bear positively on hospitals in defending against the claims of apparent agency and non-delegable duty. It is important that hospitals continue to oppose the imposition of liability for the acts and omissions of its independent contractor physicians, and Godwin sets a favorable precedent in favor of such opposition.

_{Case Law Alerts, 4^th Quarter, October 2016. Case Law Alerts is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright © 2016 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.}