Failure to specifically identify the health care providers who allegedly breached the standard of care was not proper grounds to dismiss the plaintiff’s vicarious liability claims against the hospital.

The plaintiff was admitted to Lehigh Valley Hospital following a femoral artery bypass surgery. After approximately 20 days, she was transferred to Manor Care. While at Manor Care, she developed a right heel blister. After experiencing a heart attack, she was transferred back to Leigh Valley Hospital. Ultimately, the heel injury turned necrotic and unsalvageable. After a below the knee amputation, the plaintiff. Sokolsky brought an action against Manor Care and Lehigh Valley Hospital. Included in the plaintiff’s complaint were claims against both institutions under the theory of vicarious liability. Upon consideration of the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, the trial court dismissed the vicarious liability claims because the plaintiff failed to specifically identify the Manor Care and Lehigh Valley Hospital staff members who acted negligently. Upon review, the Superior Court concluded that the trial court erred as a matter of law. The Superior Court stated that, simply because employees are unnamed within a complaint or referred to as a unit, i.e., the staff, does not preclude one’s claim against their employer under vicarious liability if the employees acted negligently during the course and within the scope of their employment. In this matter, Manor Care and/or Lehigh Valley Hospital could be subject to vicarious liability for the negligent acts and omissions of its staff regarding the quality of care it rendered to the plaintiff. The court held that vicarious liability attaches to Manor Care and Lehigh Valley Hospital regardless of the plaintiff’s attack of an individual member of either entity’s nursing staff. The court acknowledged that in order for her to recover on her legal malpractice action, the plaintiff will need to establish during trial that the staff breached a duty owed to her and that this breach caused her to suffer damages. However, as a plaintiff in a medical malpractice action, the plaintiff is not required to make a threshold showing that a specific medical practitioner owed a certain duty to her in order to establish her vicarious liability claims against the hospital defendants.

Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2015