§ 6.7.8 NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION.

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 6.7.8 Negligent Supervision. An employer may be liable for negligent supervision of an employee.⁵⁷ In a negligent supervision case, the issue is whether a company neglected its duty of overseeing and instructing an employee. Illustrative is Simmons v. United States.⁵⁸ In that case, the employer was found liable for mental harm to the plaintiff caused by the employee social worker's sexual relationship with the plaintiff during her treatment. The court ruled that the employer should have supervised the counselor more closely so as to be aware of the problem earlier, and that once it learned of the problem, it should have taken action to prevent further harm to the plaintiff. Whether characterized as negligent supervision or negligent retention, the actionable negligence consists of supervising or retaining the employee with knowledge of his unfitness, or failing to use reasonableness to discover it before or during employment.

The Arizona Supreme Court addressed a hospital's liability for the negligent supervision of a surgeon in Fridena v. Evans.⁵⁹ In Fridena, the plaintiff sued her doctor for negligently performing a surgery to lengthen her right leg after the same doctor caused the leg to be shortened in an operation following a motorcycle accident.⁶⁰ Here, the court noted that a hospital has a duty to supervise its medical staff, and is liable for its employees' negligence when it has...