PHYSICIANS v. MEDICAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE MEDICAL STAFF OF WASHINGTONTOWN
Where medical executive committee recommended that physicians' membership and clinical privileges at hospital be terminated, and physicians each invoked right to a hearing and requested that all hearings be consolidated, availability of an appeal of hearing officer's ruling on merits to Judicial Review Committee, in which any error in denying consolidated hearing could have been challenged, constituted an adequate administrative remedy. Writ of mandate directing that hearings on MEC recommendations be consolidated was error where physicians failed to exhaust adequate administrative remedy. High cost of resolving claims at individual hearings, alleged inability to adequately marshal resources for such hearings, and lack of subpoena power did not constitute irreparable harm justifying excusal of failure to exhaust administrative remedy where there was no showing that any witness would be unavailable if separate hearings were held, any potential problems stemming from the lack of subpoena power would be faced equally by both sides, and costs were a normal incident of participation in the process.
Comments on PHYSICIANS v. MEDICAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE MEDICAL STAFF OF WASHINGTONTOWN