Ruling allows lawsuit against WVU Medicine, Camden Clark Medical Center to continue
(Court Reports - Photo Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)
PARKERSBURG — Memorial Health System’s lawsuit against West Virginia University Hospitals and WVU Medicine Camden Clark is moving forward again after a ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Marietta Area Healthcare Inc., Marietta Memorial Hospital and Marietta Healthcare Physicians Inc. filed suit earlier in 2023 against Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital Corp., Camden-Clark Health Services Inc., West Virginia University Hospitals Inc. and West Virginia United Health System Inc., claiming they supported efforts to taint Memorial with false claims of over-paying doctors in exchange for referring patients. The original complaint was filed with federal authorities by two Camden Clark executives and a local physician, resulting in a multi-year investigation Memorial claims cost it millions of dollars and negatively impacted its recruiting efforts. That fall, U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss counts of malicious prosecution, tortious interference with business relationships and expectancies, abuse of process, fraudulent legal process, civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting tortious conduct and vicarious liability. But he deferred a ruling on the count of negligent supervision, saying there was not enough case law to make that determination Bailey certified three questions to the state’s highest court, asking if a claim of negligent supervision against an employer is viable under West Virginia law, what the elements of such a claim are and if an employer can be liable for intentional or reckless torts. The state Supreme Court issued a ruling in May answering yes to the first and third questions and saying claims for negligent supervision against employers in West Virginia require proof of “duty, breach, causation and damages – supplemented by the additional necessity of demonstrating a tortious act or omission by the employee.” The decision was 4-0, with Justices Tim Armstead and Beth Walker disqualifying themselves and Kanawha County Circuit Judge Jennifer F. Bailey and Cabell County Circuit Judge Sean K. Hammers sitting on the court by temporary assignment. Supreme Court Justice C. Haley Bunn concurred with the first two answers but dissented on the third. Last week, she issued a separate opinion, saying the court should not have answered the third question because the pertinent issues were covered in the second answer. She also cautioned that claims of negligent supervision are “fact dependent” and that intentional torts may typically “fall outside the scope of supervision.” Days after the initial opinion was released, Bailey issued an order denying the defendants’ motion to dismiss that charge and lifting the stay on the case. The lawsuit follows litigation Memorial settled with former Camden Clark CEO Mike King, former hospital legal counsel Todd Kruger and Dr. Michael Roberts with Parkersburg Surgical Associates over the filing of the original complaint that led to the investigation. This suit says discovery in that case indicated participation and approval by at least some members of Camden Clark and WVU Medicine’s leadership. A couple of weeks after the West Virginia Supreme Court issued its ruling, the defendants filed their formal responses to the lawsuit. All four entities – Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital Corporation, Camden-Clark Health Services Inc., West Virginia University Hospitals Inc. and West Virginia United Health System Inc. – denied involvement in the original complaint and demanded a jury trial. Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital Corporation’s response added that had it known the extent of Kruger’s involvement sooner it would have taken steps to stop it, “consistent with the direction of its board of directors.” Representatives of both Memorial and WVU Medicine did not return messages seeking comment Monday afternoon. Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.comLocal News
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Ruling allows lawsuit against WVU Medicine, Camden Clark Medical Center to continue
