Public Health Law Map - Beta 5 - Medical and Public Health Law Site

The mere fact a private corporation receives aid from the state in the way of
exemption from taxation and by state appropriation toward its support does not
render a hospital a state institution. So when is a state liable for damages in a
hospital? In determining the liability of a governmental unit or agency for torts
committed in connection with the operation of a hospital, most courts, in the absence
of a statute abrogating immunity, make the question depend upon a distinction
between whether the operation of the hospital was governmental, in which case there
is immunity, or proprietary, in which case there is no immunity. This is the same
analysis discussed above in connection with state and municipal tort liability.
There is no uniform standard for determining whether a hospital is operated in
performance of a governmental or proprietary function. The maintenance of a
hospital by a municipality for the purpose of conserving public health and treating
indigent patients is generally held to be a governmental rather than a proprietary
function.
Most courts seem also to agree on the proposition that operating a hospital for the
purpose of making a financial profit is the performance of a proprietary function. Yet
most courts also hold that a hospital is not operated for profit merely because it
accepts paying patients, especially where the charges do not exceed the cost of
maintenance. Beyond these general rules of thumb, no useful criteria can be gathered
from the cases.
6. Personal Liability of State Health Officials
As for the personal liability of public officials for injuries inflicted within the scope
and performance of their official duties, health officers are not personally held liable
for damages, although it is in the employee’s best professional interest not to be the
cause of such litigation. TCAs work under a vicarious liability theory. Therefore,
state employees must act within the limits of their authority for the TCA to apply. If
the TCA applies, the state will be replaced as the defendant and pay any damages.
Intentional wrongdoing that is outside the official’s duties, such as criminal conduct
or intentional torts such as false imprisonment, will not be covered by the TCA. If
the TCA does not apply, the state worker will be personally liable for damages.
7. Public Health Examples
The exceptions to state tort liability have resulted in a vast body of unpredictable
case law amongst the states, so no general rule applies everywhere. Situations where
immunity against tort liability was extended to health officials:
Department of Health officials in Vermont received immunity for negligently issuing
a lodging license, based on a vendor’s promise to bring a septic system into
compliance with public health regulations. The decision to issue the license was
deemed discretionary in nature. Johnson v. State, 682 A.2d 961 (1996).
A court ruled that Georgia’s sovereign immunity extended to its counties, and that
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