Hospital liability and AIDS treatment: the need for a national standard of care

This Article examines the current rules governing hospital liability in relation to the potential liability arising from Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Traditional limitations on hospital liability have eroded while doctrines of corporate negligence and apparent agency have increased the basis for hospital liability. At the same time, the use of the locality rule, which established a standard of care based on community practice, increasingly has been replaced by the adoption of a national standard of care. With no existing precedent concerning the standard of care in AIDS treatment, both hospitals and courts require an authoritative basis for establishing the appropriate national standard of care. The authors contend that the guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provide the most appropriate basis for establishing a national standard of care for AIDS treatment.