Hospital Malpractice Claims for Injuries, Negligence, Mistakes, and More

hospital malpractice occurs when the negligence of an employee creates physical harm for a patient. A hospital may be guilty of negligence if the patient, or the patient’s survivors, proves that:

The hospital had a duty of care to the patient;
The hospital staff breached its duty of care by failing to act like a reasonable hospital staff member would have acted given the circumstances;
The breach of the duty of care caused physical harm to the patient which would not have happened but for the hospital’s actions or inactions; and
The plaintiff is entitled to damages pursuant to state hospital malpractice law.

What is Considered Hospital Malpractice?

A hospital may be liable for malpractice any time that a plaintiff proves the elements of negligence described above. Some common situations where a hospital is found liable for malpractice include:

Failure to diagnose: this may include a failure to order the necessary diagnostic tests or making a wrong diagnosis. For example, if a reasonably prudent hospital staff member would have ordered diagnostic tests or made a different diagnosis then the hospital may be liable for malpractice;
Failure to treat a patient: a hospital may turn away an ill patient, fail to provide medical services in a timely manner, or fail to recommend that the patient seek the care of a specialist as a reasonably prudent hospital would have done. If any of these things happen and the failure to treat the patient results in harm to the patient then the hospital may be liable for negligence; and
Failure to monitor a patient: once a patient is admitted to the hospital then the hospital has a duty of care to monitor the patient’s medical status. If the hospital does not monitor the patient as a reasonably prudent hospital would and the patient suffers a medical injury as a result then the hospital may be liable for negligence.

Liability of Hospital Staff

The liability of hospital staff depends on the staff member’s employment relationship with the hospital. If the staff member is an employee of the hospital, such as nurse neglince or technician mistakes, then the hospital will likely be sued for malpractice. However, if the alleged malpractice was committed by an independent contractor then the independent contractor may be liable for malpractice damages, rather than the hospital. Many doctors are independent contractors with hospitals, rather than employees, so it is important to hire an experienced lawyer who can help you decide whether to file a medical malpractice case against a doctor, a hospital malpractice claim, or both.

Filing a Claim against a Hospital

A hospital malpractice claim begins when a complaint is filed in court. The complaint will allege that the hospital was negligent in its care of the patient and that, therefore, the patient, or the patient’s survivors, is entitled to damages.

Statute of limitations

The time limit to file a claim depends on the states medical malpractice statute of limitation. It is typically only 1 – 4 years from the time the alleged malpractice occurred. Therefore, it is important to seek the advice of a medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible after the patient is injured.

How a Lawyer Can Help

A hospital malpractice lawyer can help an injured party recover damages pursuant to state hospital malpractice law. A hospital malpractice lawyer can also help a hospital defend itself against malpractice charges. Therefore, it is important to contact a hospital malpractice lawyer for help if you are bringing or defending a hospital malpractice case.

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