GA: Hospital Sued for Negligent Credentialing: Court Erred in Denying Plaintiff's Discovery Motion.

CASE FACTS: Georgiana McCall filed a suit for medical malpractice against Henry Medical Center, Inc., Dr. Roberta Parker, and others for damages arising out of a surgical procedure performed by Dr. Parker on the premises of the Medical Center. The patient claimed that the Medical Center was negligent in granting medical privileges to Dr. Parker. The Medical Center objected to a number of the plaintiffs discovery requests on the grounds that the requested material was privileged as part of its peer review process. The plaintiff moved to compel discovery and the Medical Center then moved for summary judgment. The plaintiff asked the trial court to deny or defer the Medical Center's motion for summary judgment pending a ruling on her motion to compel. The trial court nevertheless granted the Medical Center's motion for summary judgment. The trial court declined to rule on the plaintiffs motions to compel and to defer a ruling on summary judgment because it found those issue moot. The plaintiff appealed.

COURT'S OPINION: The Court of Appeals of Georgia vacated the judgment of the lower court and remanded the case. The court held, inter alia, that to prevail on a motion for summary judgment, a moving party must demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the undisputed facts, viewed in a light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, warrant judgment as a matter of law. The court noted that it is established that a "hospital has a direct and independent responsibly to its patients to take reasonable steps to ensure that staff physicians using hospital facilities are qualified for the privileges granted. The court recognized that no aspect of credetialing process if a peer review function, especially if the process involves the evaluation of a physician's performance of an actual medical procedure. However, the court ruled that summary judgment was not warranted in this case merely because a peer review committee approved Dr. Parker, and that appeared to be the sole basis for the trial court's erroneous grant of summary judgment for the hospital. The court acknowledged that while some of the plaintiffs discovery requests may have encompassed privileged material, some of the requested material may have been discoverable and that relevant to the plaintiffs suit. The court concluded that the grant of summary judgment in favor of the Medical Center was, therefore, premature. Accordingly, the court vacated the judgment and remanded the case to the trial court so that it might consider the plaintiffs motion to compel production of evidence as the plaintiff had requested. McCall v. Henry Medical Center, Inc., 2001 WL 737339 So.2d -GA