Carl Hagwood represented the Appellee/Defendant, Delta Regional Medical Center, in a case of first impression decided by the Mississippi Supreme Court. The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the grant of summary judgment by the trial court which held that a community hospital, Delta Regional Medical Center, cannot be held vicariously liable for the alleged negligence of an independent contractor emergency room physician. The Mississippi Supreme Court held that, under the terms of the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, a community hospital cannot be held vicariously liable for the alleged negligence of an independent contractor emergency physician and rejected the Plaintiff/Appellant’s that the doctrine enunciated in Hartley v. Brantley, 471 So. 2d 358 (Miss. 1985) was controlling. This is a landmark decision applying the terms and provisions of the Mississippi Tort Claims Act.