Montgomery, AL – The Alabama Supreme Court has thrown out a $3.2 million judgment against a Montgomery hospital and ruled for the first time that a state-affiliated hospital shares the state government's immunity from lawsuits.
The state's highest court split 5-3 in the decision. Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb wrote in dissent that the decision immunizes a hospital in providing negligent care to citizens.
The family of a 73-year-old Wetumpka woman, Lauree Durden Ellison, sued Baptist Medical Center East because she died after visiting the emergency room.
The Supreme Court issued a first-of-its-kind decision Friday throwing out the verdict. The court said the hospital's parent company, Baptist Health, turned over operations to the University of Alabama and its UAB Health System before Ellison was treated, and that change means the hospital is protected by the state government's immunity against lawsuits.
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