Turner v. Selby General Hospital

In Turner v. Selby General Hospital (May 11, 1998), Washington App. No. 97CA18, 1998 Ohio App, the plaintiff, a nurse employed with the hospital, was required to undergo a yearly physical examination. In 1983, she received a positive test result that indicated that she had been exposed to active tuberculosis. In each of the following years, part of her annual employment-related physical exam included chest x-rays that were performed on the premises of her employer. In 1994, the plaintiff learned from a different set of physicians employed at a different hospital that she had active tuberculosis and that she had had the disease for a number of years. She subsequently filed a negligence action against her employer and alleged that her employer negligently failed to diagnose her as suffering from tuberculosis. The trial court determined that the workers' compensation statutes provided her with the exclusive remedy against her employer and that the dual capacity doctrine did not apply. On appeal, we affirmed the trial court's judgment. The Court agreed with the trial court's reasoning that because the hospital required the chest x-rays and annual physical examinations as a condition of the plaintiff's employment, the employment relationship predominated. The Court further concluded that the hospital did not conduct the annual examinations in its capacity as a public hospital, but instead in its capacity as the plaintiff's employer. The Court observed that the hospital's personnel department, not a treating physician, referred the plaintiff to the hospital's laboratory/radiology department, along with a form to be completed and returned to the personnel department.