In Smith v. West Suburban Medical Center, et al, a patient fell off a stool in an x-ray room. Filed in 2006, the negligence suit also named Triton College [Triton] and a Triton student who was assisting the patient.
West Suburban brought a counterclaim against Triton arguing that the clinical agreement it had with the hospital indemnified them if a student’s actions led to a lawsuit against the hospital. The hospital sought summary judgment on the issue, and Triton argued that summary judgment wasn’t proper because the lawsuit named the student as an “apparent agent” and that was a question of material fact. Triton contended the other issue of material fact was whether or not the hospital maintained the x-ray room in a safe manner.
Cook County Circuit Judge Lynn M. Egan granted summary judgment in favor of the hospital. In doing so, Judge Egan determined that there was no issue of material fact. When there is no issue of material fact, the only question is how to apply the law to those specific facts. In this case, Judge Egan determined that the applicable law meant that Triton agreed to indemnify the hospital. Triton appealed the decision, but the First District Appellate Court affirmed the lower court’s decision, noting that the agreement clearly states that Triton will indemnify West Suburban for claims arising out of activities of its students. Triton College will be defending this lawsuit.
Clearly, this case shows that colleges are much more susceptible to litigation arising from their clinical students than one may have realized. The case is silent as to the language in the Agreement regarding the Hospital’s duty to supervise the student. We’ll just have to watch future trends in litigation to see if hospitals continue to pass on lawsuits to colleges based on language in clinical agreements.
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