Patients who undergo treatment at a hospital and suffer injury as a result of neglect can, in fact, sue the facility for medical malpractice. A hospital may be held legally responsible for causing an injury resulting from medical care. The hospital can also be held liable for mistakes made by hospital staff. However, many times a claim must be escalated to a medical malpractice lawsuit before a hospital will compensate a plaintiff.
Medical malpractice claims support a victim’s recovery in that it can provide for medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering and in some cases even punitive damages. Where a hospital employee has committed an error in the administration of medical care, or where a hospital policy leads to patient injuries that hospital may be held liable for medical malpractice damages.
(Know the Risks of Anesthesia Errors)
What is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice is essentially a breach of the duty of care owed by a medical professional to their patient. That breach can be due to neglect or even a lack of training or simply ineptitude. Whatever the reason, when the care provided falls below what’s called the medical standard of care, and when that causes the patient injury, the patient may be entitled to medical malpractice compensation.
Whom should I sue when I am injured by suspected medical malpractice?
The doctor, nurse, medical technician or other hospital employee who committed the error(s) that caused your injuries will likely chief among the defendants in your medical malpractice claim. However, the hospital, clinic or nursing home may also be responsible for medical malpractice damages caused by their employees and/or the execution of the facility’s policies.
When it comes to employee errors, hospitals may be held liable for damages related to patient injuries even if the facility was not directly responsible for causing those injuries. As such, you may, in fact, elect to sue the hospital without even involving the employee responsible for the medical malpractice error(s). Through the legal theory called vicarious liability, an employer may be held liable for damages resulting from an employee’s negligence when that employee was acting in the operation of their job duties. The basis for suing the hospital under vicarious liability is that the facility has greater resources and is in a better position to financially compensate the victim for their injuries.
How much a hospital facility can be held liable for negligence on the part of its employees, however, does depend on the nature of the hospital and the employee in question. If the employee was a physician with complete and total autonomy, it may be more difficult getting a court to assign responsibility on the facility because it really maintains little oversight over the physician.. Some hospitals maintain contracts with independent contractors, who are not officially full-time employees of the facility. Yet, if the hospital maintained apparent authority (a visible appearance of an agency relationship between the staff member and the hospital), and a patient is led to believe that the physician acted on behalf of the hospital, the hospital can be sued under vicarious liability.
Negligent hospital or medical facility policies can affect the safety of patients in several ways. They include:
- Inadequate staff
- Inadequate hospital security
- Absence of supervisory staff
- Deficit in employee training
- Negligent hiring (dangerous employees)
- Inconsistent training and policies to ensure patient safety
- Unsanitary practices
- Lax emergency room and/or operating room procedures
- Improper prescription procedures
If you’ve been injured as a result of a medical procedure error and are looking for an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer who has an expertise in winning medical malpractice claims, call Bizzieri Law Offices at 773.881.9000. We have a strong track record for success, earning the highest awards for which our clients may be entitled to receive. There is no fee for the case evaluation and no cost unless we earn compensation for you.