Perhaps this happens all the time but it strikes me as odd. In the past two days, there have been two stories about hospitals suing newspapers.

The first: St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth and its CEO sued the Duluth News Tribune and its reporters, “accusing the newspaper of defamation in its reporting about neurosurgeon Stefan Konasiewicz,” the newspaper reported.

From the article: While at St. Luke’s Konasiewicz and St. Luke’s were sued at least nine times for malpractice. St. Luke’s and Konasiewicz settled six malpractice suits for a total of at least $3.2 million, records show. Two suits involved patients who died and one was by a woman who was left a quadriplegic. In 2010, the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice sanctioned Konasiewicz for “unethical and unprofessional conduct.”

“St. Luke’s issued a statement this week that said, in part: “This defamation lawsuit was brought because our patients, dedicated staff and community deserve to know the truth and not be misled and misinformed by these false reports.”

News Tribune Publisher Ken Browall said in a statement: “The stories portrayed what is unquestionably a matter of public safety and concern. We look forward to proceeding to court and the dismissal of this unwarranted complaint.”

In the second, Tri-City Healthcare District in San Diego County sued the San Diego Union-Tribune, attempting to block the newspaper from publishing information the hospital inadvertently gave it, according to Courthouse News Service.

From the story: “Tri-City Healthcare District seeks an injunction forcing the newspaper to return documents “inadvertently” sent by mail earlier this month.

“Tri-City says it realized its mistake 5 days after sending the records, and asked the Tribune to send back the documents and destroy any copies.

“Thereafter, on September 12, 2011, the SDUT notified the district that it intended to publish confidential and privileged information and documents which it obtained from the district through inadvertent disclosure in response to the request and which are protected by the attorney client privilege,” according to the Superior Court complaint.”

Are you aware of other hospitals suing newspapers?

Kinda reminds me of how, in 2009, New Jersey’s largest hospital, Hackensack University Medical Center, pulled ads and halted newspaper deliveries at the hospital after a story about its governing board.

The newspaper had reported on how various hospital board members helped underwrite Bergen County’s Democratic leadership and how several trustees do business with the hospital.

UPDATE: The Union-Tribune reports that a judge denied the hospital’s request for a restraining order.