The men running Hutcheson Medical Center will have to pay for their own lawyers if anybody sues them down the road.
Dr. Darrell Weldon, the chairman of the Hospital Authority of Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties, asked the elected officials in three local governments to give taxpayer money to Hutcheson’s board to pay for liability insurance. Walker County Attorney Don Oliver said his side would not be contributing anything. So did Dade County Executive Ted Rumley.
Then, during a special-called meeting Thursday afternoon, the Catoosa County Commission declined the request. After meeting in a closed-door session for about 40 minutes, the commissioners returned to their seats. Chairman Keith Greene asked the other elected officials if they wanted to make a motion to offer the board money. Nobody spoke.
“It wasn’t in the best interest of the county to financially support it,” Greene said after the meeting.
The hospital’s board members used to be covered under a claims-made policy. If someone sued those board members, claiming they mismanaged the hospital, an insurance company would pay for their legal representation and cover the cost of a lost lawsuit – up to a certain amount.