Can you sue a hospital for medical malpractice and negligence?

When is a hospital liable for harm caused to patients? If a staff member was negligent in providing care, can you sue a hospital for medical malpractice?

A patient may be able to successfully sue a hospital for medical malpractice in a few situations.

1. If a hospital staff member such as a technician, nurse, or aid was grossly incompetent and negligent and their actions caused the patient injuries, then the hospital may be liable for their staff’s actions.
   In some cases, what may look like a poor decision, may actually be a hospital standard so it’s important to conduct due diligence when determining what should have been the correct treatment of the patient.
2. If the injured party is trying to sue the doctor for medical malpractice, the case may be trickier.
   Usually the doctors are not employees of the hospital and therefore the hospital is usually not liable for the doctor’s negligence. It’s important to find out if the doctor is a hospital employee. If they are hospital employees then the injured party may sue the hospital for medical malpractice. Additionally, if the injured party is trying to sue the doctor for negligence or medical malpractice due to one of the hospital employees who was being supervised by the doctor at the time of the injury, the hospital might not be liable if the doctor had the ability to prevent that employee’s negligent actions.
3. In order to successfully sue a hospital for medical malpractice committed by a doctor, the injured party will need to prove that the doctor was an employee of the hospital.
   To avoid this liability, hospitals will often write in their admission forms that the doctor is not an employee. One common situation where this does not work, however, is when it comes to emergency rooms. An injured party ending up in either the emergency room or the ICU typically doesn’t have an opportunity to sign admission documents, so they can usually sue the hospital for a doctor’s medical malpractice as though the doctor worked as an employee.
4. The last way that an injured party may be able to sue a hospital for the negligence and medical malpractice actions of a doctor is if the victim can prove that the hospital was aware that the doctor was unfit to practice.
   If the hospital knew that one of their doctors was incompetent then they have a responsibility to protect their patients and if they don’t they may be liable.

If any of these scenarios are relevant to you, consult with an experienced personal injury attorney.

If you have any questions or need more information, send us a message.