Opinion ID: 6357225
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Althaus (2): The social utility of the actor's conduct

Text: The conduct at issue here, i.e. , the act or omission upon which liability is asserted, is Defendants' failure to report the diversion of fentanyl, and Kwiatkowski's role in that theft, to the DEA or (perhaps) other law enforcement authorities. The Superior Court acknowledged UPMC's important function in providing health care services to the community as well as Maxim's role in providing staffing in furtherance of those services. The court found that imposing the duty would not unduly hinder [Defendants] from performing their vital functions, and in fact, would operate to their benefit in protecting these entities from unwittingly hiring drug-impaired and unreasonably dangerous health care workers.  Walters , 144 A.3d at 119 . [R]eporting is not such an arduous task as to divert attention or resources from the mission of providing quality health care, the court continued, especially because the law already required that much of UPMC. Id. Thus, the Superior Court appeared to view the social utility factor as favoring the imposition of the asserted duty upon both Defendants. To some extent, a focus upon the burden a duty to report places upon UPMC and Maxim overlaps with the fourth Althaus factor, which concerns itself squarely with the consequences of imposing a duty. To the extent that the conduct at issue in Althaus's second factor is understood to refer to Defendants' failure to take more steps than they did to ensure that Kwiatkowski did not repeat his dangerous and criminal conduct while employed with other health care providers, there can be no question that such a failure lacks all social utility. In Phillips , we weighed the social utility in providing the convenience of disposable lighters used safely against the lack of social utility in providing such lighters without features designed to prevent children from causing fires, especially given the modest burden of requiring such features. Here as well, against the clear social utility furnished by any health care provider we weigh the lack of social utility in failing to take analogous steps to enhance public safety where it is practicable to do so. With regard to UPMC, we agree with the Superior Court that there is, of course, social utility in its provision of health care. To this we will add that there is related social utility in managing the costs of such care, which are affected by the degree of liability exposure a provider faces. Conversely, as a registrant under the CSA with a duty to report the diversion of controlled substances to the DEA, federal law and rule-making make clear that the government considers it of paramount concern that registrants minimize the diversion of controlled substances, and adhere promptly to strict rules requiring the reporting of such diversions when they occur, further suggesting that registrants supplement such reports by reporting known thefts to other law enforcement agencies. The United States government thus has determined that there is social utility in ensuring that registrants act in furtherance of the government's interests in oversight and law enforcement by reporting loss or theft, and not just mandatory reporting to the DEA. Ultimately, we believe that the reporting burden we determine should be imposed upon UPMC is modest enough that it is more or less in equipoise with the social utility in limiting CSA registrant health care providers' liability exposure and managing health care costs, and thus weighs neither for nor against imposing such a duty on UPMC. With respect to Maxim, the analysis diverges somewhat because no governing body with jurisdiction in Pennsylvania has opted to impose a similar reporting requirement upon non-registrants. To be clear, we discern no social utility in Maxim's failure to report known criminality of the sort at issue in this case, but Maxim is not subject to a legal manifestation of the United States government's specific judgment that social utility lies in requiring Maxim to do so. As the Superior Court noted, there also is clear social utility in the presumptive efficiencies that staffing agencies introduce to the health care environment. Given that we find this factor neutral relative to UPMC, and that we find the social utility analysis somewhat less compelling as to Maxim, we conclude that this factor weighs against imposing such a duty upon Maxim.