“With Friends Like These . . . .” Doctors and Nurses Criticizing Co-Employed Colleagues. Are These Criticisms Admissible as Vicarious Opposing Party’s Statements?

Authors

Marc D. Ginsberg, University of Illinois-Chicago School of LawFollow

Abstract

Healthcare provider incivility includes non-collegial conduct such as physicians criticizing co-employed physicians when speaking with patients. This conduct is, obviously, disruptive, and does not help to establish productive, collegial, employee relationships.

Additionally, this incivility may have evidentiary consequences in medical/hospital negligence litigation. If the healthcare providers are employed by a hospital or other healthcare organization, the criticisms of co-employed colleagues which are communicated to patients may be admissible against the employer in medical/hospital negligence litigation as vicarious opposing party’s statements. This paper explores this evidentiary curiosity.

Recommended Citation

Marc D. Ginsberg, “With Friends Like These . . . .” Doctors and Nurses Criticizing Co-Employed Colleagues. Are These Criticisms Admissible as Vicarious Opposing Party’s Statements?, 68 St. Louis U. L.J. (2023).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/lj/vol68/iss1/4