Horowitz v. Plantation General Hospital Limited Partnership

Summary

The Supreme Court of Florida considered whether section 458.320, Florida Statutes, creates civil liability for a hospital that fails to ensure that a physician with staff privileges satisfies statutory financial responsibility requirements. The court held that the statute does not impose a duty or private cause of action against hospitals for an unsatisfied medical malpractice judgment against the physician. It approved the Fourth District's decision and disapproved conflicting decisions from the Second, Third, and Fifth Districts.

Holdings

1. Florida common law does not impose a duty on hospitals to monitor or ensure the financial responsibility of independent-contractor physicians with staff privileges.
2. Section 458.320, Florida Statutes, neither imposes a duty on nor creates a civil cause of action against hospitals for failing to ensure the financial responsibility of staff-privileged physicians.
3. The statutory scheme does not demonstrate legislative intent to impose civil liability on hospitals for physician financial-responsibility violations.

Questions Presented

1. Whether section 458.320, Florida Statutes, imposes a statutory duty on hospitals to ensure that physicians with hospital staff privileges satisfy financial-responsibility requirements.
2. Whether section 458.320 creates a private civil cause of action against a hospital for failing to ensure a staff-privileged physician's financial responsibility.
3. Whether Florida common law independently imposes on hospitals a duty to ensure the financial responsibility of independent-contractor physicians with staff privileges.
4. Whether the trial court properly entered summary judgment for Horowitz based on the contrary district-court decisions recognizing hospital liability.

Disposition

approved