State Ex Rel. Board of Trustees of North Kansas City Memorial Hospital v. Russell

THOMAS, Judge.

This case presents the issue of whether and to what extent sovereign immunity shields a Chapter 96 city hospital from liability for medical malpractice. That a city enjoys immunity from liability arising from operation of a hospital is well settled. See, e.g., Zummo v. Kansas City, 285 Mo. 222, 225 S.W. 934 (1920). We conclude that the result is no different when the hospital is operated by a board of trustees pursuant to Chapter 96, RSMo.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The dispute arises from a medical malpractice suit in Clay County and is before us on a petition for a…