MEDICAL STAFF
BY-LAWS NOT CONTRACT
In O’Brien v.
Santa Monica Hospital Medical Center (2001) 01 CDOS 10580, a physician
involved in a credentialing action at a hospital argued that the failure
of the medical staff to follow the terms of its by-laws was a breach of
contract. The appellate court held that because the by-laws were required
by law, they were not a contract and the hospital could not be sued for
breach of contract for allegedly violating the bylaws.
The court also
noted that if the by-laws were more comprehensive than what was required
by law, violating the terms of those more expansive by-laws might be a
breach of contract.
The O’Brien
case stands for the proposition that a physician in a credentialing
dispute cannot sue for breach of contract unless the breach involves
by-laws not required by Title 22, section 70703 of the California Code of
Regulations.
