Unfortunately for non-profits, jurors in med mal cases are just as critical of them as they are their for-profit cousins and don't perceive non-profits as any more caring, or any less greedy.

Jurors are also generally unmoved by a university affiliation or whether a facility is a teaching hospital and do not credit defendants with being better corporate citizens just because they care for under-served areas or populations.

Med mal jurors usually spend considerable time focusing on the knowledge differential--and therefore the inherent power differential--between the physician (or other medical professional) and the patient, and their analysis isn't affected by what corporate structure the defendant operates under.

In fact, in some cases a teaching hospital can actually face an additional burden in proving it met the standard of care if a resident physician (sometimes called a "trainee doctor") was a prominent treater.

Sad perhaps, but true. So don't expect any bonus points from jurors just because your hospital doesn't have shareholders.

Silly Suit in South Dakota

Juror Perceptions of Hospitals: For-Profit vs. Non-Profit