Medical Staffing Network Inc. v. Connors

The defendant temporary staffing agency's ignorance of a litigation agreement entered into by the plaintiffs and the defendant hospital on the first day of trial, whereby the hospital could reduce or eliminate its financial exposure in exchange for certain conduct during the litigation that would increase the agency's liability, did not render the trial fundamentally unfair.

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Janet Rowland, the widow of William Rowland, and the estate of William Rowland collectively, “the Rowlands” brought this medical malpractice action in the State Court of DeKalb County against DeKalb Medical Center “the hospital” and Medical Staffing Network, Inc., a temporary staffing agency.1 The hospital filed a cross-claim for indemnification against Medical Staffing, which employed a nurse whose negligence allegedly injured William Rowland and caused his death. A jury trial resulted in a verdict in favor of the Rowlands. Ultimately, the trial court entered judgment in favor of the Rowlands on the jury’s verdict and in favor of the hospital on its cross-claim. Medical Staffing appeals, challenging the judgment along with the trial court’s rulings on a number of post-trial motions. The following facts are undisputed. In July 2005, William Rowland was seriously injured in a vehicular accident and received long-term acute care at the hospital. At the time, Medical Staffing was under contract with the hospital to supply the hospital with temporary medical personnel as needed. Peggy Howard, a licensed practical nurse employed by Medical Staffing, worked the overnight shift from 7:00 p.m. on August 13 to 7:00 a.m. on August 14, 2005, and was primarily responsible for William Rowland’s care that night. William Rowland developed hypotension low blood pressure that night, but Howard did not discover his worsening condition until she checked on him at 5:20 a.m.

The Rowlands brought suit against the hospital on December 7, 2007, claiming that Howard negligently failed to monitor William Rowland’s vital signs and that, as a result of the delay in treatment, he suffered injuries, including severe brain damage, which resulted in his death on December 8, 2005. They added Medical Staffing as a party defendant in March 2008.

Medical Staffing Network Inc. v. Connors

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