HOSPITAL SEEKING LAWSUIT'S DISMISSAL.Byline: Grace Lee Staff Writer Community Memorial Hospital asked a judge on Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit brought by its medical staff in a conflict that has drawn national attention and could set a precedent in doctor-hospital relations. Physicians filed suit in April, contending that hospital administrators unlawfully interfered with the independence of the medical staff by adopting policies without consulting them. Peter Goldenring, the attorney representing the hospital, argued that allowing the doctors' suit to proceed would lead to ``a cycle of insanity insanity, mental disorder of such severity as to render its victim incapable of managing his affairs or of conforming to social standards. Today, the term insanity is used chiefly in criminal law, to denote mental aberrations or defects that may relieve a person from .'' He also argued that the medical staffers had no right to sue because they are part of the hospital. But the doctors say the administration's position jeopardizes their right to self-governance and their position to advocate quality patient care. They contend that the administration also has undermined their right to evaluate the qualifications of potential doctors as well as other forms of peer review. Tom Curtis Tom Curtis can refer to several different people:
The suit sought a restraining order restraining order: see injunction. to freeze the new policies. Superior County Judge Henry Walsh ordered a doctor who refused to sign the new policies to agree to them until he makes his ruling. He also ordered the hospital to reinstate To restore to a condition that has terminated or been lost; to reestablish. To reinstate a case, for example, means to restore it to the same position it had before dismissal. the doctor. The medical staff has drawn support from the California Medical Association, whose lawyer filed a brief on behalf of the doctors, as well as the American Medical Association American Medical Association (AMA), professional physicians' organization (founded 1847). Its goals are to protect the interests of American physicians, advance public health, and support the growth of medical science. . Goldenring said the suit is driven by the financial interests of doctors who object to a conflict-of-interest policy. The new bylaws The rules and regulations enacted by an association or a corporation to provide a framework for its operation and management. Bylaws may specify the qualifications, rights, and liabilities of membership, and the powers, duties, and grounds for the dissolution of an forbid doctors who compete with the hospital for patients to hold leadership positions in the medical center. The judge has taken the request under advisement Deliberation; consultation. A court takes a case under advisement after it has heard the arguments made by the counsel of opposing sides in the lawsuit but before it renders its decision. ADVISEMENT. . Grace Lee, (805) 662-6757 grace.lee(at)dailynews.com |
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