Gopi Thota

Medical Malpractice:

 

When Can Patients Sue a Hospital for Negligence?

 

When can you sue the hospital or its employees for negligence?

 

A hospital can be sued for negligence for mistakes that harm or kill a patient. When an employee of the hospital is guilty of negligence, you can sue the hospital. When a doctor working for a hospital makes a mistake, both the doctor personally and the hospital as a whole can be sued. However, doctors can only be sued if they were present and could have prevented the negligence. You cannot sue every doctor in the Emergency Room or surgical floor, only the one who administered or oversaw your treatment. Hospitals can also be sued when a doctor with a history of negligence and medical mistakes was kept on the payroll, thus enabling them to continue harming patients.

 

What constitutes neglect?

 

Neglect occurs when someone does not do their job as a normal and competent professional would. Negligence includes not verifying instructions, not following checklists, failing to assist patients in need and not take immediate action in an emergency. There are greater tolerances for mistakes made in life threatening emergencies than general care situations. Malpractice and negligence can arise from a failure to properly diagnose a condition or injury. Negligence can occur when someone is given the improper treatment or the correct treatment is administered incorrectly. Nurses administering the wrong medication and therapists following the wrong protocols are examples of this.

 

Failing to risk patients of negative outcomes from a medical treatment or side effects of the treatment is also negligence. Recommending a surgery to cure cataracts that can also leave a patient blind is an example of this concept. To sue for negligence, the risk must be significant enough that the patient might have chosen not to have the procedure or treatment if they had known and must have suffered that negative outcome.

 

Can you sue medical professionals other than doctors at the hospital?

Yes.

Any medical professional affiliated with a hospital can be sued for negligence. This includes nurses, physical therapists, medical technicians and pharmacists. First responders such as paramedics and firefighters have broad protection from medical negligence claims, due to the difficulty of acting during emergencies, unless they are employees of the hospital and provide care at the facility. Good Samaritans are rarely sued for negligence unless their actions are reckless.

 

What types of damages are available when someone sues a hospital for negligence?

 

There must be a specific injury as well as actual damage to sue for negligence. You cannot sue a hospital because you were unhappy with the level of service.

 

Physical pain and suffering

Medical bills with other medical facilities or practitioners to treat the condition caused by the hospital's neglect, injuries caused by the hospital or diagnose what the hospital failed to find.

 

Lost income due to the inability to work or lost income of the individual who died

Medical bills resulting from additional treatment at the hospital if the patient had received the proper course of treatment. Costs of physical therapy or assisted care while recovering medical malpractice lawyersEvery year, over 225,000 individuals die from medical errors. It is a common misconception that the majority of medical malpractice lawsuits arise because of mistakes in the operating room. In fact, most medical malpractice cases are the result of misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, diagnostic error, or the failure by hospital staff to follow doctors’ prescriptions or instructions. Unfortunately, such errors can carry enormous consequences, for example, if an eye doctor fails to recognize the symptoms of glaucoma, blindness can set in. With over 25 years of experience, Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP, has extensive experience in handling medical and hospital malpractice cases. The firm has represented numerous clients who were the victims of professional negligence. Our clients have included the families of people who have committed suicide as a result psychiatric malpractice, as well as victims of hospital malpractice whereby, for example, a failure to medicate or diagnose an ailment has led to severe repercussions, such as brain damage.

 

Diminished Quality of Life

A delayed or misdiagnosed heart attack, or appendicitis, can have immediate and catastrophic consequences. However, with regard to a disease such as cancer, a delayed or incorrect diagnosis often leads to a much poorer prognosis, and limited treatment options, once the disease is finally discovered. If such an event occurs, the result may be a diminished quality of life and an increased chance of remission.

 

Further examples of medical malpractice include:

unnecessary surgery, medication errors, contaminated blood transfusions, and infections in hospital and clinical settings. Responsible parties may include doctors, nurses, hospitals, physical therapists, pharmacists, chiropractors, and podiatrists.

 

If you or a loved one has suffered from any of the following, you may be entitled to compensation: 

Missed or delayed diagnosis for cancer;

Birth trauma,such as Erb’s Palsy or Cerebral Palsy;

Nursing home neglect or abuse;

Improper medication;

Equipment malfunction;

Surgical mistakes;

Anesthesia errors;

Botched dialysis.