Jane M. Henry, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Ernest L. Henry v. Continental Casualty Company, as The…

Summary

The court held that an injured plaintiff may proceed directly against the liability insurer of a charitable hospital under Arkansas's direct-action statute without joining or maintaining claims against the allegedly negligent employees. The dismissal of the nurses with prejudice therefore did not eliminate the insurer's potential vicarious liability, so the circuit court's dismissal of the claims against the insurer was reversed and remanded. Justices Danielson, Corbin, and Henry, dissenting, would have affirmed on the ground that dismissal of the employees extinguished derivative liability against the insurer.