Opinion ID: 2625045
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Direct Claims Against CCMH and Dr. Horan

Text: [¶ 19] Also in their third issue, the Beavises attack the district court's entry of judgment on the claims against CCMH and Dr. Horan. We begin with the claim against CCMH. As a legal matter, the Beavises' negligent hiring theory against CCMH rests upon the predicate of Hazlett's alleged negligence. See Cranston v. Weston County Weed and Pest Bd., 826 P.2d 251, 258 (Wyo. 1992) (accepting definition of this cause of action set forth in Restatement Second of Agency § 213 (1958)). Indeed, [o]ne element of negligent hiring is some form of misconduct by the employee that caused damages to the plaintiff. McHaffie By and Through McHaffie v. Bunch, 891 S.W.2d 822, 826 (Mo.1995). Thus, even assuming CCMH was negligent in the manner the Beavises claim, i.e., breached some duty in hiring Hazlett, it is clear such negligence could not be the proximate cause of Pamela Beavis' injuries unless the predicate negligence of Hazlett was first found. [3] We also find Benedict v. St. Luke's Hospitals, 365 N.W.2d 499 (N.D.1985) helpful on this point. In that case, the North Dakota Supreme Court held harmless the trial court's failure to instruct on the hospital's independent duty to properly staff its facility. The court explained: Because the jury found that neither Dr. Ellison, the doctor on duty in the emergency room, nor Dr. Ehlen, Phillip's personal physician with whom Dr. Ellison conferred, acted negligently, the jury could not have found that a breach of duty by St. Luke's to provide competent staff in its emergency room was a proximate cause of Phillip's injuries. 365 N.W.2d at 504-5. This result also finds support in DeWald v. State, 719 P.2d 643, 652 (Wyo.1986), where this court wrote: Having held the patrolmen not liable, we must also hold that the appellee, State of Wyoming, cannot be held liable, the reason being that if the conduct of the patrolmen did not amount to negligence that caused the accident, then neither could their training by the State nor could rules have been a cause of the accident. Stated another way, it would have had to appear that, because of inadequate training or failure to follow departmental rules, the officers acted in a negligent manner and caused this accident. We have held that did not occur. [¶ 20] Turning to the claims against Dr. Horan, the Beavises are correct in stating that the question of whether Dr. Horan breached a duty in his training/supervision of Hazlett has never been litigated. The Beavises, therefore, argue their claim against Dr. Horan has never been determined and that Dr. Horan should not enjoy the benefits of the no negligence finding in Hazlett's favor. However, as with the claim of negligent hiring against CCMH, the Beavises' claims against Dr. Horan rest on the predicate of Hazlett's alleged negligence. Indeed, no allegation was made that Dr. Horan should not have prescribed any medicine, that he prescribed the wrong medicine, that he ordered an improper dosage, that he ordered it injected into an improper location, or anything of the sort. Instead, the only allegation is that he failed to train or supervise Hazlett in administering the injection. Thus, even assuming Dr. Horan was negligent in the manner the Beavises claim, i.e., breached some duty in failing to supervise or train Hazlett, it is clear his negligence could not be the proximate cause of Pamela Beavis' injuries unless the predicate negligence of Hazlett was found. Benedict v. St. Luke's Hospitals, 365 N.W.2d at 504-5. We therefore conclude the district court did not err in entering judgment in favor of Dr. Horan. [¶ 21] As for the Beavises' claim that they have been denied an opportunity for a hearing on these claims, their argument is not well taken. After trial, in addition to filing a motion for new trial, the Beavises filed an objection to the form of the judgment in which they argued the claims against Dr. Horan and CCMH had not been litigated. After holding a hearing, which apparently went unreported, the motion for new trial was denied, and the objection to the form of the judgment was overruled. Under these circumstances, we do not find a denial of due process. The issue was apparently considered and the objection overruled. Nevertheless, any error would be harmless given the preceding discussion. [¶ 22] Although the parties spend little time discussing comparative fault, we believe this case must be analyzed consistently with the Wyoming Comparative Fault Statute, Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-1-109 (Lexis 1999), in order to uphold the legislative mandate on comparative fault. We therefore must address the Beavises' contention, which is captured in a pretrial memorandum: It is possible for the jury in this case to determine that even though Defendant Hazlett performed the injective process in the wrong way, that considering her lack of qualifications that she was not negligent, but that Defendant Horan and Defendant CCMH were negligent and consequently liable in failure of hiring, training, qualifications, retention, and supervision.... This argument does have some logical appeal, and we agree that, had the Beavises established that Hazlett performed the injective process in the wrong way or was in any measure negligent, Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-1-109(a)(iv), they would have later been entitled to establish their claims against CCMH and Dr. Horan and been entitled to a jury determination on comparative fault. However, because the claims against CCMH and Dr. Horan rest on the predicate of Hazlett's alleged negligence, we find no error in entry of judgment on the claims against those two parties.