Not-So-Apparent: Managing the Risks of Apparent Agency

In this webinar, seasoned attorneys Diane Webster and Carly Shannon will provide an in-depth look at the issues related to apparent agency in healthcare. A legal concept not always well understood by healthcare professionals, apparent agency can present risks both for those professionals and the facilities they work for. Join Webster and Shannon as they discuss important aspects of apparent agency, including the legal system’s approach to evaluating an apparent agency claim and the steps that you can take to mitigate your risk.

Who can attend

Registration is limited to ISMIE and SEMPIC policyholders and their employed staff.

Learning objectives

At the conclusion of this learning activity, participants will be able to:

• Define the legal concept of agency
• Describe the issue of apparent agency in the practice of medicine
• Summarize how the legal system determines whether a healthcare professional was acting as apparent agent of a hospital or practice group
• Identify factors the courts look to in evaluating the success of an apparent agency claim

About the presenters

Diane Webster is a trial attorney who defends her clients in a variety of civil litigation, including medical and healthcare litigation, products liability, pharmaceutical liability, and medical/surgical device litigation. These clients include hospitals and physicians, insurance companies, medical/surgical device companies, state and county governments, a major league baseball organization, several corporations, and school districts. Her practice also encompasses premises liability, municipal law, and government litigation.

Diane defends multimillion-dollar complex/catastrophic litigation cases involving medical negligence, birth trauma, obstetrics, neonatal negligence, neurologic injuries, and alleged defective or malfunctioning medical devices.

She practices in all aspects of insurance and general liability defense involving allegations of sexual abuse, personal injury, premises liability, product liability, and wrongful death. In the area of commercial litigation, Diane defends class action lawsuits alleging violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

Diane is the Partner in Charge of Hinshaw's Chicago office, recognized as one of the "11 Coolest Offices" in Chicago by Crain's Chicago Business.

The former co-chair of Hinshaw's Hispanic/Latino Attorney Network, Diane currently serves on the firm's Executive Committee, Hiring Committee, and Attorney Life Committee. She is also active in the firm's mentoring program, where she mentors both associate attorneys and summer associates.

During law school, Diane was involved in a number of activities, including serving as the Associate Editor and Lead Articles Editor for the Journal of International Comparative Law.

Carly E. Shannon represents clients in a broad range of civil litigation matters. In addition to handling government-related affairs on behalf of corporate clients and providing strategic legal counsel on regulatory and compliance issues, she has extensive experience in healthcare litigation defending physicians, hospitals, and other medical providers facing malpractice allegations.

Carly handles all aspects of complex civil litigation, from which she has gained substantial experience drafting and arguing motions, taking and defending depositions, conducting expert discovery, and presenting witnesses at trial. Carly also maintains an active appellate practice, representing clients in both state and federal appellate courts.

Before joining Hinshaw, Carly practiced with two other firms in Chicago where, with a particular focus on medical liability, she continued to advance her skillset in the courtroom throughout all phases of litigation, including at trial.

While in law school, Carly served as a teaching assistant for first year legal writing students. She also clerked for the corporate counsel of a global financial markets company, where she worked on a broad range of regulatory and compliance matters, as well as enterprise risk management.

Accreditation

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Illinois State Medical Society and ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company. The Illinois State Medical Society is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation

The Illinois State Medical Society designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Disclosure

There are no relevant financial relationships with ACCME-defined commercial interests for anyone who was in control of the content of this activity.