Sharpe v. St. Luke's Hosp.

Opinion

 [**1216]   [*92]  OPINION

MR. JUSTICE SAYLOR

We allowed appeal in this matter to determine whether a hospital, which collects samples for drug testing under a contract with an employer, owes a duty of care to the employee undergoing that testing.

Appellant Renee Sharpe ("Sharpe"), a courier for Federal Express, was directed to report to St. Luke's Hospital (the "Hospital") to undergo routine, random drug screening. Pursuant to a contract with Federal Express, the Hospital collected  [**1217]  urine samples and then forwarded those samples to an outside laboratory for testing. On the day in question, Sharpe maintains, numerous events transpired at the Hospital that affected the chain of custody associated with her urine sample, as a result of which it was misidentified and/or mishandled. Consequently, Sharpe alleges, the urine sample falsely tested positive for [***2]  cocaine. When she disputed that outcome, the Hospital conducted an internal investigation at the request of  [*93]  Federal Express. Following the investigation, through which the Hospital verified the chain of custody, Sharpe's employment with Federal Express was terminated.

Sharpe thereafter instituted an action against the Hospital in the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County, alleging that the Hospital "had a duty of care to perform specimen collection in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations governing specimen collection and in accordance [with] the requirements placed upon a medical facility performing to the appropriate and generally accepted standards [for] urine specimen collection." Citing to numerous instances in which the Hospital's actions allegedly did not conform to these standards of care, and contending that such failures resulted in a false positive drug test, Sharpe averred direct and immediate harm to both her reputation and economic status resulting from the termination of her employment. Sharpe proceeded to assert claims of, inter alia, negligence and deliberate and reckless misconduct against the Hospital. ¹ Shape did not assert any claim against [***3]  the entities that had performed the testing and reported the results to Federal Express; the Hospital, however, joined those entities as additional defendants.

The Hospital ultimately filed a motion for summary judgment, maintaining, inter alia, that Sharpe could not establish that it owed her a duty that is recognized by law, a prerequisite to her negligence claim. Specifically, the Hospital asserted that, because it collected Sharpe's specimen pursuant to its contract with Federal Express, no professional or contractual relationship had been created between it and Sharpe, thus obviating the existence of a duty [***4]  on its part.

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