Fake Nurses Putting Hospitals at Risk
Many top level executives at St. Louis area hospitals are thinking about negligent hiring after a fake nurse was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for falsifying nursing credentials to obtain nursing jobs for over 18 years. The St. Louis Post Dispatch recently reported that Catherine M. Connor, plead guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of wire fraud. As part of the plea, she also admitted falsifying credentials, lying about her qualifications and covering up a criminal record. Connor's employers included SSM DePaul Health Center, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Missouri's prison health care contractor and the National Institutes of Health. She held jobs mainly in education or consulting and never provided hands-on care to patients.
Liability from negligent hiring has become a hot topic among many of the nation’s largest companies. If an employee cause’s harm to another employee, customer, or other person, and the employer knows or should have known that the employee was a risk, the employer can be held liable for damages caused by the employee. This is known as negligent hiring or negligent retention. Every employer has a duty to make a “reasonable” determination about whether a potential employee is qualified for their job. This is commonly known as performing “due diligence.” It can include verification of certifications, trainings, and education. It also includes drug testing, criminal background checks, and driving record checks.
If the employer breaches its duty, that employer may be held liable for negligent hiring. The duty is breached when the employer hires an employee it knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, was incompetent or unfit for the work assigned. "Incompetence" means the employee possessed certain personal or physical characterizations which created an unreasonable risk to third parties. The concept of risk creation implies the injury producing conduct of the employee was predictable.
One common example of negligent hiring is a driver of a large commercial vehicle who has a history of alcohol or substance abuse who is still allowed to drive heavy machinery on our roads. If an employer does not perform an adequate background check and/or drug test, and those reasonable tests would have shown the driver was unfit to drive, the employer may be liable under the theory of negligent hiring for any injuries or damages the driver causes.
Negligent hiring and negligent retention also come up in the medical field. As discussed above, at least four St. Louis medical employers allowed an unqualified nurse to work with falsified credentials. A simple verification system would have exposed that Catherine Connor was not qualified as a nurse. If Ms. Connor had treated patients and caused injury, her employers would have been liable under negligent hiring and negligent retention theories. The medical field is particularly at risk for substance abuse issues among its employees. Are hospitals performing regular drug testing among all employees? If not, they are at risk for liability on any damages a reasonable employer would have seen coming. If you or a loved one has been injured in a way that could have been prevented by adequate employee testing or verification please contact an experienced St. Louis injury lawyer as soon as possible to ensure your rights are adequately protected.
