Verhoff v. Ohio State University Medical Center

797 N.E.2d 592, 125 Ohio Misc. 2d 30
CourtOhio Court of Claims
DecidedSeptember 10, 2003
DocketNo. 2002-08823
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 797 N.E.2d 592 (Verhoff v. Ohio State University Medical Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Verhoff v. Ohio State University Medical Center, 797 N.E.2d 592, 125 Ohio Misc. 2d 30 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2003).

Opinion

J. WaeRen Bettis, Judge.

{¶ 1} An evidentiary hearing was conducted in this matter to determine whether Stephen P. Hoffman, M.D., and Larry C. Martin, M.D., are entitled to civil immunity pursuant to R.C. 2743.02(F) and 9.86. At the outset of the proceedings, a stipulation was filed with regard to Dr. Martin. Thus, the hearing proceeded on the issue of immunity only as it pertains to Dr. Hoffman.

{¶ 2} At all times relevant to this action, Dr. Hoffman was employed by the Ohio State University (“OSU”) as an assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. In addition, Dr. Hoffman was employed by the Department of Medicine Foundation, Inc. (“DMF”), a private-practice corporation operating within the Department of Internal Medicine.

[32]*32{¶ 3} There is no assertion that Dr. Hoffman acted with malice, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner in his care and treatment of plaintiffs decedent, Richard Verhoff. Therefore, the issue before the court is whether this physician was acting within the scope of his state employment with OSU when the alleged injury occurred.

{¶ 4} R.C. 2743.02(F) states:

{¶ 5} “A civil action against an officer or employee, as defined in section 109.36 of the Revised Code, that alleges that the officer’s or employee’s conduct was manifestly outside the scope of his employment or official responsibilities, or that the officer or employee acted with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner shall first be filed against the state in the court of claims, which has exclusive, original jurisdiction to determine, initially, whether the officer or employee is entitled to personal immunity under section 9.86 of the Revised Code and whether the courts of common pleas have jurisdiction over the civil action.”

{¶ 6} R.C. 9.86 states:

{¶ 7} “[N]o officer or employee [of the state] shall be liable in any civil action that arises under the law of this state for damage or injury caused in the performance of his duties, unless the officer’s or employee’s actions were manifestly outside the scope of his employment or official responsibilities or unless the officer or employee acted with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner.”

{¶ 8} The determination of whether a physician is entitled to personal immunity is a question of law. Nease v. Med. College Hosp. (1992), 64 Ohio St.3d 396, 596 N.E.2d 432, citing Conley v. Shearer (1992), 64 Ohio St.3d 284, 595 N.E.2d 862. However, the question of whether the physician acted manifestly outside the scope of his state employment is one of fact. Lowry v. Ohio State Hwy. Patrol (Feb. 27, 1997), Franklin App. No. 96API07-835, 1997 WL 84656; Smith v. Univ. of Cincinnati (Nov. 29, 2001), Franklin App. No. 01AP-404, 2001 WL 1512098.

{¶ 9} There is no bright-line rule for determining whether a physician acted within the scope of state employment, but certain cases provide some guidance. For example, in Ferguson v. Ohio State Univ. Med. Ctr. (June 22, 1999), Franklin App. No. 98AP-863, 1999 WL 410247, the Tenth District Court of Appeals set forth 15 factors it routinely considered in determining whether a physician acted outside the scope of his state employment. Subsequently, in Wayman v. Univ. of Cincinnati Med. Ctr. (June 22, 2000), Franklin App. No. 99AP-1055, 2000 WL 798797, the court emphasized that the Ferguson factors could be viewed in terms of two essential considerations: (1) whether the patient was the physician’s [33]*33private patient or a patient of the university medical facility; and (2) the relative financial gain for the university as compared to that of the physician. More recently, in Barkan v. Ohio State Univ., Franklin App. No. 02AP-436, 2003-Ohio-985, 2003 WL 754349, the court stated that “the key factor” is whether or not the patient was essentially the doctor’s private patient.

{¶ 10} In the instant case, Dr. Hoffman treated Verhoff, as the attending physician on duty in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (“MICU”), when Verhoff arrived at OSU Medical Center. Dr. Hoffman testified that he had not previously treated Verhoff and that, although patients came to the MICU by various means, he did not recall Verhoff s being referred to him by any other physician. Dr. Hoffman stated that his role in the MICU was to teach and supervise medical students, residents, and interns. He likened them to apprentices, and noted that the students actively participated in all aspects of patient treatment and that the attending physician reviewed and critiqued their work, but he was ultimately responsible for all final decisions. Dr. Hoffman stated that, in his opinion, the roles of professor and attending physician were virtually indistinguishable.

{¶ 11} Verhoff was transferred to OSU from St. Ritas Hospital in Lima, Ohio. He remained in the MICU from the day of his arrival on August 18, 2001, to the day of his death on September 29, 2001. In the complaint, plaintiff alleges that defendant’s negligent care and treatment caused Verhoff “to suffer intra-abdomi-nal damages and bleeding resulting in the development of sepsis and his wrongful death.” Verhoff was billed for medical services by DMF. Dr. Hoffman’s duties at OSU included the preparation of the billing cards that are processed by DMF to generate individual patient bills.

{¶ 12} As for his personal compensation for services, Dr. Hoffman testified that he received payment from both OSU and DMF. His employment agreement details the contributions of both entities; DMF provides the greater percentage of Dr. Hoffman’s salary and also provides medical malpractice insurance. He described DMF as a corporation established to facilitate the operation of various divisions within the Department of Internal Medicine. However, according to Dr. Hoffman, his assignment to the MICU rotation was not made by DMF, but rather, was made by the Director of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Department.

{¶ 13} In support of the claim of immunity, counsel for Dr. Hoffman relied upon the decision in Barkan, supra. That case involved two emergency room physicians who were also partners and employees of Emergency Care Associates, Inc. (“ECAI”) at OSU. The court of appeals reversed this court’s judgment finding that the physicians in question acted outside the scope of their state employment. In so doing, the court examined its decisions in numerous cases and held: “In conclusion, this case is analogous to Ferguson, Scarberry, and [34]*34Kaiser.1 In each of those cases, emergency department attending physicians were found immune when they were treating emergency department patients. While we can foresee a case where an emergency department attending physician might treat a patient as a private patient, this is not such a case. The evidence presented here demonstrates that, although Barkan was billed by the doctors’ private practice plan and ultimately discharged by Dr. Gorgas, he was not treated by the doctors as a private patient. Barkan was not referred to the doctors and all treatment occurred at the OSUMC emergency department. Barkan was first seen by a resident who examined him and developed a diagnosis and treatment plan.

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Bluebook (online)
797 N.E.2d 592, 125 Ohio Misc. 2d 30, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/verhoff-v-ohio-state-university-medical-center-ohioctcl-2003.