Wicker v. Union County General Hospital

556 So. 2d 297, 1989 Miss. LEXIS 479, 1989 WL 147016
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 15, 1989
DocketNo. 07-58691
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 556 So. 2d 297 (Wicker v. Union County General Hospital) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wicker v. Union County General Hospital, 556 So. 2d 297, 1989 Miss. LEXIS 479, 1989 WL 147016 (Mich. 1989).

Opinion

ROY NOBLE LEE, Chief Justice,

for the court:

On February 27, 1986, Union County General Hospital filed suit in the Chancery Court of Union County against Bettye Wicker (Wicker), a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), Drs. E.E. Bram-litt, Bruce Bullwinkel, and the New Albany Surgical Group, P.A., seeking to determine whether Wicker would practice in the hospital without a contract or agreement with the hospital and, if the court held that she could practice without a contract, asking that the chancellor declare the hospital’s liabilities for her acts. The lower court declared that Union County General Hospi[298]*298tal has the right to control the services of anesthesia within the hospital and that Wicker has no right to practice therein without being an employee of, or under contract to, the hospital. The lower court further held that the hospital breached its contract for one month with Wicker and awarded her damages for that breach. Wicker has appealed from the judgment and the hospital has cross-appealed from the award of damages. Wicker assigns the following errors in the trial below:

I.
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FINDING THAT UCGH IS EXEMPTED FROM STATE MONOPOLY OR ANTITRUST LAWS AND THAT WICKER HAS NO STAFF PRIVILEGES AND THAT WICKER HAS NO RIGHT TO PRACTICE AT UCGH WITHOUT BEING AN EMPLOYEE OR UNDER CONTRACT, AND DENYING WICKER FURTHER RELIEF.
II.
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FINDING THAT WICKER WAS ENTITLED TO ONLY $10,392.00 IN DAMAGES FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT.
III.
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FINDING THAT UCGH DID NOT INTERFERE WITH WICKER’S CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS.
IV.
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FAILING TO ALLOW WICKER TO SUBMIT AN OFFER OF PROOF.
V.
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN ADOPTING ALMOST VERBATIM THE POST-TRIAL PROPOSED FINDINGS OF FACT SUBMITTED BY COUNSEL FOR UCGH.
VI.
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FINDING THAT IT HAD JURISDICTION OVER THE SUBJECT MATTER.

Facts

Union County General Hospital (Hospital) is county owned and is governed by a seven-member board of trustees. It is the only hospital in Union County. The Hospital in 1986 was licensed for 125 beds, but additional construction, which was to be completed in 1986, would allow space for an additional 37 beds, a total capacity of 157 beds. Wicker is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). She began working at the Hospital when it opened in 1966. For many years she was the principal provider of anesthesia services at the Hospital. All parties agree that Wicker is a very well qualified CRNA and has given long and dedicated service to the Hospital.

Beginning April 1,1971, through September 30, 1982, Wicker operated as an independent contractor, providing anesthesia services to patients at the Hospital as requested by surgeons and obstetricians. During this time, she functioned under a series of written and verbal agreements. On September 30, 1982, the Hospital and Wicker entered into a written contract. Among other things, the agreement provided that the Hospital would bill patients for supplies, use of facilities, equipment, as well as for her professional services. The Hospital would then remit to Wicker sixty percent (60%) of the amount the Hospital charged for her professional services. Wicker was to have liability insurance for not less than one million dollars. Under no circumstances would the Hospital pay Wicker less for her services than they were paying to other contracting parties for anesthesia. The contract was for five years and was subject to cancellation by either party on ninety (90) days written notice.

Dr. Thurmond Beasley, a dentist, also performed anesthesia services at the Hospital, but on a much smaller scale. The Hospital prior to the contract with Wicker had been paying Dr. Beasley one hundred percent (100%) of the amount it had billed [299]*299its patients for his professional services. The Hospital continued to pay him the 100% for the month of October of 1982. Thereafter, the Hospital paid him sixty percent (60%) of the charge billed to the patient for his professional services, in accordance with its contract with Wicker.

In September of 1984, the Hospital experienced a drop in patient census (average patient load) due to changes in Medicare and Medicaid payments. To adjust to the resulting decrease in income, the Hospital took steps to reduce hospital expenses. The Hospital renegotiated contracts with its pathologist and radiologist. In the fiscal year ending September, 1985, the Hospital’s net income exceeded expenses by $95,000. However, payments on bonds it sold to finance new construction were soon coming due.

The Board of Trustees, in reviewing financial data of the Hospital, determined the profit the Hospital was earning off the Anesthesia Department was not sufficient. The Hospital had billed $407,000 for anesthesia services but was only netting a $17,-000 profit. In 1985, the Hospital paid Wicker $211,000; in 1984, $200,000; and in 1983, $183,600.

On October 1, 1985, the Hospital gave Wicker the required 90-day notice to terminate her contract. The letter stated that it had become necessary to renegotiate certain professional service contracts and for that reason and no other was the notice given. The letter also stated:

Please be assured the Board holds Mrs. Wicker in the highest regard, professionally and personally, and wishes to retain her valuable services. The purpose of this notice is to initiate negotiations in order to reach a new contract before December 31, 1985, which will be mutually acceptable and serve the needs of all parties.

The Hospital proposed a contract to pay Wicker approximately $50,000 for her anesthesia services. On November 27, 1985, Wicker informed the Hospital that she did not wish to renegotiate her contract with the Hospital, but that, beginning January 1, 1986, she would practice anesthesia on her own for two doctors practicing at the Hospital: Dr. Bramlitt and Dr. Bullwinkel d/b/a The New Albany Surgical Group, and all other doctors who wished to use her services. Drs. Bramlitt and Bullwinkel performed approximately 80% of the surgery at the Hospital. Thereafter, the Hospital hired a full-time CRNA, Phillip Tho-mason, to begin work on January 1, 1986. His base pay was $50,000 plus additional pay for overtime. The Hospital also entered into a contract with Dr. Beasley to provide anesthesia services at the Hospital. The contract with Dr. Beasley guaranteed that if he made less than $15,000 in a year from anesthesia services the Hospital would make up the difference. This was to assure that he would receive enough revenue to cover his malpractice premium.

The Hospital soon became concerned with its potential liability if Wicker were held negligent while administering anesthesia in the hospital, and the Board consulted its attorney. Contractual agreements were drafted and proposed to all the physicians at the Hospital, who used Wicker’s services regularly. Drs. Creekmore, Cargile, Russell and Shirley signed agreements which provided that each physician would assume responsibility for Wicker’s acts when they used her services at the Hospital. Drs. Bullwinkel and Bramlitt initially refused to sign such an agreement.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
556 So. 2d 297, 1989 Miss. LEXIS 479, 1989 WL 147016, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wicker-v-union-county-general-hospital-miss-1989.