Your Legal Options Following a Hospital Error
When people are sick and in the hospital they expect to be taken care of by the hospital and its employees. However, sometimes a patient's condition is made worse due to hospital errors.
July 15, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Your Legal Options Following a Hospital Error
Article provided by Henry E. Valenzuela & Associates
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Types of Hospital Errors
When people are sick and are required to spend time in the hospital to recuperate from their illnesses, receive treatment or have surgery, they expect to be taken care of by the hospital and its employees. They expect to get better. This, however, does not always happen and sometimes a patient's condition is made worse while in the hospital.
Nursing Errors: Nurses have the most contact with patients and are expected to provide them with competent medical attention and care. Nurses also have a duty to regularly monitor a patient's condition to check their vitals, medication levels and administer post-surgical care. If they aren't performing their duties, the patient may develop life-threatening conditions, like blood clots, that may not be detected in time to prevent injury or death.
Nurse errors also can occur when nurses fail to follow orders written by the treating physician or fail to contact a doctor in a timely manner when a complication arises or the patient's condition worsens.
Medication Errors: Medication errors can occur when patients are administered either the wrong type of medication or the wrong dosage of medication. Either type of medication error can lead to patient death or permanent damage. Hospital pharmacists can be responsible for medication errors, as can the nurses responsible for administering the medication or the physicians who prescribed the medication.
Infections: Hospitals can be breeding grounds for germs and infections. There have been numerous stories in the news about patients contacting MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a particularly medication-resistant strain of Staph infection, while in the hospital receiving treatment for an unrelated condition.
Other types of infections also can arise post-surgery if the patient does not receive proper care. Additionally, infection is always a present risk in any surgery, no matter how well the hospital, physicians and staff may try to protect against it. Infections may be treated with medication, but in other situations, they can result in nerve or tissue damage or even the loss of a limb.
Physician Errors: In some instances, the hospital may be held vicariously liable for an injury caused by a physician who has staff privileges at the hospital. Certain types of physicians may be solely employed by the hospital, such as emergency room doctors. Other types of physicians, like surgeons, may have contracts to be on-call for the hospital and use their facilities for surgeries, but may not be an employee of the hospital. Many times these physicians also will maintain a private practice and are considered independent contractors with one or more hospitals.
Some examples of physician errors that may lead to a medical malpractice claim against the hospital and/or physician include:
- Surgical errors
- Anesthesiologist errors
- Emergency room errors
- Birth injuries
- Radiology errors
An experienced medical malpractice attorney will be able to determine whether the hospital shares responsibility with your doctor for your injury. Hospitals may be held vicariously liable for the acts of doctors who are their employees as well as those who are independent contractors, depending on the facts of the case.
Possible Legal Claims Following a Hospital Error
Hospitals are responsible for training and supervising their employees and have an affirmative duty under Florida law to screen, evaluate and review the competence of each member of their medical staff (F.S.A §766.101). When staff physicians, nurses, nurse's aides, orderlies or other hospital employees make a mistake that harms a patient, the hospital may be held responsible for their actions.
Patients may be able to file a negligent hiring and retention claim against the hospital for failing to ensure the competence of its staff under Florida's corporate negligence doctrine (F.S.A. §766.110).
They also may file a medical malpractice claim to recover compensation for their injuries. In order to bring a successful claim for medical malpractice, the patient must be able to prove:
- The health care provider owed a duty of care to the patient
- The health care provider breached the duty of care
- As a result of the breach, the patient was injured
Under Florida law, "health care provider" includes not only physicians, but also hospitals, pharmacists and ambulatory surgery centers, among others.
If the hospital error resulted in the patient's death, the patient's spouse or parents may file a wrongful death claim. In a wrongful death claim, the family is compensated for their losses stemming from their loved one's death, such as loss of companionship. While a wrongful death claim will never be able to adequately compensate a family for their loss, it can help ensure hospitals do not act negligently in the future and protect other families from suffering a similar loss.
Conclusion
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of the negligence of a hospital employee, you may have legal options available to you. For more information, speak to an attorney who handles medical malpractice cases.
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