University of Kentucky Hospital Safe From Malpractice Liability

A University of Kentucky medical facility and its providers won’t face a medical malpractice suit filed by a woman left paralyzed after treatment for difficulty walking, severe back pain, and leg numbness, a state appeals court said.

The defendants were entitled to governmental immunity under existing state court precedent, the Kentucky Court of Appeals said in an unpublished opinion Nov. 22. A trial judge improperly characterized a 1997 Kentucky Supreme Court’s discussion of UK’s immunity in an earlier case as dicta, Judge Susanne M. Cetrulo said.

The case demonstrates the tension between patients and state-operated health-care facilities that enjoy immunity ...