Today we attempt to answer a medical mystery: If I have to get my leg amputated because a doctor misdiagnosed me at the hospital, can I sue the hospital for malpractice?
Seems like an easy “yes,” right? Not so fast.
Suppose the doctor was an independent contractor, and suppose the hospital is a public institution. Those were the facts presented to the Supreme Court of Wyoming in a recent case (which also serves as a nice reminder that if you are admitted to the hospital with numbness and cramping in the legs and an “inability to walk,” it would be a good idea to get a vascular consult — assuming you want to keep your leg).
The Wyoming Supreme Court had to interpret a state statute that limited the liability of public hospitals to acts by its employees, except if a hospital extended its liability on purpose through an insurance policy. The hospital here had an insurance policy, but the policy did not reference coverage for acts by independent contractors.
Who Is My Employee? 