PER CURIAM.
In this direct appeal, Appellant challenges the granting of Respondent Waccamaw Community Hospital's (the Hospital) motion to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint (the Complaint) pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), SCRCP.
We note that the Hospital appears to agree that the trial court erred, for the Hospital asserts the claim is governed by section 44-7-390 of the South Carolina Code,
We are thus presented with a question of law: at the time of the alleged medical negligence in 2007, did South Carolina recognize a cause of action against a hospital for negligent credentialing? We hold such a claim could exist based on the allegations in the Complaint, which we are bound to accept as true under the Rule 12(b)(6) standard of review. E.g., Doe v. Bishop of Charleston, 407 S.C. 128, 134, 754 S.E.2d 494, 497-98 (2014) ("When reviewing a motion to dismiss for failure to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action, the pleadings must be construed liberally, and all well pled facts must be presumed true." (footnote omitted) (citing Charleston Cnty. Sch. Dist. v. Harrell, 393 S.C. 552, 557, 713 S.E.2d 604, 607 (2011))); cf. Chestnut v. AVX Corp., 413 S.C. 224, 227, 776 S.E.2d 82, 84 (2015) ("[N]ovel questions of law should not ordinarily be resolved on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion."). The common law would support a claim for negligence where a party undertakes to perform a duty and discharges that duty in a negligent manner, and it would hold the negligent party liable for damages proximately caused by that negligence. See, e.g., S.C. State Ports Auth. v. Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc., 289 S.C. 373, 376, 346 S.E.2d 324, 325 (1986) ("A cause of action for negligence requires[] (1) the existence of a duty on the part of the defendant to protect the plaintiff; (2) the failure of the defendant to discharge the duty; [and] (3) injury to the plaintiff resulting from the defendant's failure to perform." (citing Winburn v. Ins. Co. of N. Am., 287 S.C. 435, 443, 339 S.E.2d 142, 147 (Ct. App. 1985))); Fitzer v. Greater Greenville S.C. YMCA, 277 S.C. 1, 3, 282 S.E.2d 230, 231 (1981) ("There is no tenet more fundamental in our law than liability follows the tortious wrongdoer."), superseded by statute, Act No. 461, § 1, 1994 S.C. Acts 4951, 4963-64 (codified as amended at S.C. Code Ann. § 33-56-180 (2006)), as recognized in Simmons v. Tuomey Reg'l Med. Ctr., 341 S.C. 32, 41 n.3, 533 S.E.2d 312, 317 n.3 (2000). Here, the Complaint alleges that the Hospital undertook to determine the granting or withholding of hospital privileges to Dr. McGinley and did so in a negligent manner, which negligence proximately caused Appellant's injuries. Those allegations are enough to survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), SCRCP.
We acknowledge the Hospital's argument that Appellant will be unable to establish the element of proximate cause, for the Hospital asserts that the underlying malpractice claim has no nexus to the prior suspension of Dr. McGinley's hospital privileges and license to practice medicine. To be sure, a negligent credentialing claim, to be successful, must allege and prove that the alleged negligent credentialing was a proximate cause of the underlying claim of malpractice and resulting injury. Cf. Bramlette v. Charter-Med.-Columbia, 302 S.C. 68, 72, 393 S.E.2d 914, 916 (1990) ("As in any negligence action, the plaintiff in a medical malpractice action must establish proximate cause." (citing Hanselmann v. McCardle, 275 S.C. 46, 48, 267 S.E.2d 531, 533 (1980))). Where the alleged negligent credentialing has no nexus to the underlying claim of malpractice, a negligent credentialing claim cannot be sustained. Perhaps the Hospital will explore this issue on remand, together with other considerations, including policy considerations, not currently before this Court.