Vicarious liability: Is it an issue for your organization?

Vicarious liability is a very real concern for hospitals and other health care entities. There are two forms of vicarious liability: respondeat superior (liability for an employee's actions) and agency (liability for nonemployees who appear to be the agent of the entity). Since an entity works through its employees, there is little that can be done, in most cases, to avoid respondeat superior liability. Entities need to be aware of the ways in which nonemployees can be perceived to be the entity's agent so that the appearance of agency can be prevented. There are methods to avoid vicarious liability and to deal with it should it occur.