What Type Of Negligence Can A Hospital Be Held Accountable For?
Hospitals can be held accountable for negligence in two main areas:
- The negligence of hospital employees: As the negligent person’s employer, the hospital can be held liable. A physician, nurse, or other health care professional’s negligence all fall under this category.
- Hospital liability for harm resulting from the facility administration’s own mistakes: this type of negligence can be failing to verify employees or supervising employees have proper credentials. Failure to maintain and repair equipment can also be considered negligence.
Physicians may commit acts of negligence that range from misdiagnosis, surgical errors to prescribing, or medication administration.
Nurses may fail to monitor a patient properly or a patient’s vital signs at the proper times, administer the wrong type of medication, the wrong amount of medication, or distribute the medicine at the wrong time. All of these acts would be considered negligent.
Should I File A Report For Hospital Negligence?
If you suffered from hospital negligence, you should file a report with your state’s medical complaints boards and consumer websites.
To file a report with the state board, you’ll need to fill out a form describing the mistake or negligence that occurred, all parties involved, and any harm resulting from the negligent actions. The process varies from state to state. Your state’s medical board can be found here.
Filing a report does not mean your doctor or hospital will face the consequences. Even if the medical board agrees negligence took place, “filing a report does not initiate a medical malpractice lawsuit, nor does it automatically help to establish medical negligence in any case, you do file eventually,” according to Nolo.
In some states, the medical board may never contact the patient who submits the report or discipline the doctor because the doctor likely had a strong professional record. In this case, the mistake is viewed as an isolated occurrence. But your report is still valuable as if another one is filed against that hospital or doctor in the future, and it helps show a pattern of negligence.
How Do I File A Lawsuit Against A Hospital For Negligence?
If you suffered due to hospital negligence, contact the team at Hyland, Padilla, & Fowler right away. We can help you from the onset, from filing a report to filing a lawsuit.
After you file your report, the hospital’s insurance company may approach you to offer a settlement; if you accept this settlement, you’ll no longer be able to sue. Our legal team can present you with all your options and advise you on what may or may not be a fair offer. This is why it’s best to have legal representation right away who is in your corner.
Our small firm delivers large-firm results by giving your case personal attention. We’ve helped more than 6,300 clients recover $29 million for their injuries.