Hungerford v. Portland Sanitarium & Benevolent Ass'n.

This is a charitable-immunity case. The only issue is whether the court should now overrule its earlier decisions which conferred upon charitable enterprises immunity from liability for the torts of their servants.

The facts are not remarkable. The plaintiff brought an action for damages for injuries caused by the negligence of a nurse’s aide employed by the hospital. We will assume that, for the purposes of this case, the defendant Portland Sanitarium & Benevolent Association is a charitable hospital. Accordingly, if immunity should be law, the hospital would be entitled to its benefits.

Our…