Theophelis v. Lansing General Hospital

On Rehearing

Before: Cynar, P.J., and M. J. Kelly and R. L. Evans,* JJ. Cynar, P.J.

Defendant Lansing General Hospital applied for a rehearing, which was granted. Upon reconsideration of our decision in Theophelis v Lansing General Hospital, 141 Mich App 199; 366 NW2d 249 (1985), we vacate that decision and set aside the jury verdict against defendant hospital. Our decision is based on the fact that the trial court erroneously submitted to the jury the question of defendant hospital’s vicarious liability for the negligent acts of Nurse Palmer and Dr. Gilmore. The valid release of Nurse Palmer and Dr. Gilmore released the hospital from any liability based on a theory of respondeat superior. Drinkard v William J Pulte, Inc, 48 Mich App 67, 76-78; 210 NW2d 137 (1973). The language of the two releases, however, did not protect the hospital from liability for its independent and concurrent acts of negligence. Drinkard, supra; Willis v Total Health Care of Detroit, 125 Mich App 612, 617; 337 NW2d 20 (1983).

Defendant hospital’s brief on appeal states that there was never a request to strike from the complaint the allegations of independent acts of negligence committed by the hospital. Defense counsel asserted for the first time in their brief in support of motion for rehearing that, at the close *567of plaintiffs’ proofs, the trial court granted the hospital a directed verdict on all but one of plaintiffs’ independent claims against the hospital. Defense counsel’s failure to accurately describe, in their brief on appeal, the status of plaintiffs’ independent claims against the hospital obstructed our initial review of this case.

Our reconsideration of the record indicates that the one independent allegation against the hospital which was not stricken from plaintiffs’ complaint was the claim that the hospital negligently failed to "ascertain that in all pediatric cases a precordial stethoscope shall be used”. The trial court found that defendant hospital was not entitled to a directed verdict on this claim because there was competent evidence and/or expert testimony to support the allegation.

Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to plaintiffs, granting them every reasonable inference and resolving any conflict in the evidence in their favor, Rushing v Wayne County, 138 Mich App 121; 358 NW2d 904 (1984), we find that there was no competent evidence or expert testimony concerning the hospital’s breach of the standard of care as it relates to the use of precordial stethoscopes in pediatric cases. We acknowledge that plaintiffs’ expert, Dr. Zsigmond, testified that failure to use a stethoscope, in this case, was a "very severe major deviation from the good standard of practice”. However, the record indicates that when plaintiffs’ counsel asked Dr. Zsigmond his opinion on this matter, plaintiffs’ counsel was speaking specifically in terms of Nurse Palmer. Dr. Zsigmond did not express an opinion on whether the hospital had breached any standard of care by failing to ascertain that a precordial stethoscope should be used in all pediatric surgical cases. Dr. Smith, the hospital’s expert, stated that in his *568opinion the hospital complied with the applicable standards in the management of the operating room procedures in this case. Hence, there was insufficient evidence presented at trial to submit to the jury the question of the hospital’s breach of the standard of care regarding the use of precordial stethoscopes.

We disagree with the dissenting opinion. Our review of the record convinces us that the evidence introduced at trial does not support the jury verdict.

This Court’s prior opinion in this case is vacated, the jury verdict is set aside and the case remanded for new trial.

R. L. Evans, J., concurred.