From our private database of 37,200+ case briefs...

Diggs v. Novant Health, Inc.

North Carolina Court of Appeals

628 S.E.2d 851 (2006)

Facts

Mary Louise Diggs (plaintiff) needed gall bladder surgery and chose a surgeon. This surgeon had hospital privileges at Forsyth Medical Center (Forsyth) (defendant), which was owned by Novant Health, Inc. (Novant) (defendant). Forsyth had a department of anesthesiology, but none of the department’s anesthesiologists were actually employed by Forsyth. Rather, the anesthesia department was staffed entirely by an independent group, Piedmont Anesthesia & Pain Consultants, P.A. (Piedmont) (defendant), that had an exclusive contract to provide all anesthesia services at Forsyth. When Diggs was admitted, she signed a form consenting to the services of “my physician” and the services of “the anesthetist/anesthesiologist responsible for this service.” Dr. Joseph McConville and nurse Sheila Crumb were the Piedmont employees who provided anesthesia care to Diggs for her surgery at Forsyth. However, Crumb had difficulty inserting a tube and punctured Diggs’s esophagus, severely and permanently injuring her. Diggs sued Piedmont, McConville, and Crumb for medical malpractice. Diggs also sued Forsyth and Novant, claiming they were vicariously liable for the anesthesia personnel’s negligence. The trial court dismissed the vicarious-liability claim against Forsyth and Novant, and Diggs appealed.

Rule of Law

The rule of law is the black letter law upon which the court rested its decision. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Issue

The issue section includes the dispositive legal issue in the case phrased as a question. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Holding and Reasoning (Geer, J.)

The holding and reasoning section includes:

A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
A summary of the majority or plurality opinion, using the CREAC method; and
The procedural disposition (e.g., reversed and remanded, affirmed, etc.).

To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

What to do next…

Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.
You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 630,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.
Unlock this case brief Read our student testimonials
Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.
Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.
Learn about our approach Read more about Quimbee

Here's why 630,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 37,200 briefs, keyed to 984 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Here's why 630,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
37,200 briefs - keyed to 984 casebooks
Uniform format for every case brief
Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
Top-notch customer support