Hospital malpractice occurs when the staff of a hospital is responsible for negligent behavior that causes physical harm to a patient that would not have happened if it were not for the hospital staff’s actions or in-actions. During a stay at a hospital, you should expect the hospital and the hospital’s staff to provide an acceptable standard of care for medical professionals in your community. You should receive the care that a reasonable person should exercise.
In most cases, the liability of a hospital depends on the employment relationship the hospital has with it’s staff. If the individual or individuals that are responsible for hospital malpractice are employed by the hospital, then the hospital may be held responsible for their actions. However, in many cases medical professionals working in a hospital may be independent contractors instead of employees which may absolve the hospital from responsibility for any medical malpractice damages. This is often the case with doctors and may result in the need to file a medical malpractice case directly with the doctor or other independent contractor instead of the hospital.
It is important to hire an experienced medical malpractice attorney who can help determine if a medical malpractice case should be filed against a doctor or if a hospital malpractice case should be filed against the hospital. It is possible that a hospital medical malpractice claim may need to be filed against both the hospital and doctor. The Sweeney Law Firm is an experienced medical malpractice law firm that can help determine the correct course of action to take.
Hospital malpractice can occur nearly anywhere in a hospital or anytime during a hospital stay and can take many different forms. Anything from a hospital policy to surgical errors can lead to injury or even death.
Here are some common hospital malpractice errors:
- Surgical errors
- Anesthesia errors
- Unnecessary surgeries
- Surgeries without consent
- Improper use of medical equipment
- Amputation of an incorrect body part
- Failure to hire and train competent employees
- Failure to test or failure to order the correct test
- Failure to refer patients to the correct specialists
- Becoming sick due to a hospital acquired infection
- Failure to monitor a patient who has been admitted
- Failure to treat a patient or failure to stabilize a patient’s condition
- Medication errors including incorrect medications or wrong medication dosage
If you believe you may have a medical malpractice case or a hospital malpractice case, it is important to contact a lawyer as soon as possible. The Sweeney Law Firm can review your case and inform you of your legal rights. We can review your case for free and take your case on a contingent fee basis. We only get paid if you do.
Hospital Malpractice Articles
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Surgical Errors Surgery, whether it is minor or major involves many aspects and persons. The possibility of surgical errors increases if surgery is due to an accident (unplanned), is lengthy, or involves more than... |
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Health Care Associated Infections In the US, between 5 to 10% of people who are admitted to hospitals will become infected with health care associated infections (HAI). Health care associated infections is a very broad term covering... |
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Anesthesia Errors Anesthetization is useful in many medical procedures for the blockage of pain and pressure sensations for the patient. Nerve impulses can be blocked in small targeted areas (local anesthesia),... |









