Can hospitals be held liable for medical malpractice?

Taking action against the parties responsible not just gives you your share of justice but also prevents them from doing this to other people. If you or a loved one were a victim of medical malpractice, several legal provisions exist that can help you. Whether you are dealing with a misdiagnosis or cerebral palsy case, a competent attorney from a reputed law firm can help you hold your hospital responsible. You can check out jjsjustice.com/national/cerebral-palsy-lawyer for more information.

When a healthcare facility or provider’s care for their patients falls below the accepted medical standards, medical malpractice issues are said to have occurred. People may take legal action against doctors or healthcare employees when something like this happens. However, there are times when the hospital itself can be held liable for malpractice. They are either held responsible for their employees’ actions or for direct negligence in such cases.

Hospitals and their liability for the actions of employees

Due to the legal doctrine of liability, hospitals may be held legally accountable for the negligent acts of their employees. These include employees like:

• Doctors
• Nurses
• Therapists
• Other healthcare workers

If any such hospital employee did work-related tasks when the malpractice occurred, the hospital could be held responsible. There are several cases in which hospitals are held liable due to the irresponsibility of their employees, such as making surgical errors, misdiagnosing, failure to monitor patients, not consulting critical medical records, prescribing incorrect medication, and much more.

What if the healthcare provider is not an employee?

You may not know this, but the person you are getting treatment from or face malpractice from may not be the hospital’s employee. Many doctors in hospitals are on an independent contract. It could be likely that one cannot hold the hospital liable in such cases because they might be misclassified and in a working arrangement. To ascertain whether the hospital may be held accountable, your lawyer will have to look into the specifics of their working relationship and make a plan for your case.

The following are some factors that may determine an employee-employer relationship, including:

• Determining the healthcareprofessional’s fees
• Controlling the professional’s working hours
• Control over the job conditions of the professional

Ideally, the individual is considered an independent practitioner if there is a lack of these points. The professional who was responsible for the malpractice would be the liable party. You cannot sue the hospital in such cases.

Direct negligence

Hospitals owe you, as a patient, a lot. These essential obligations include hiring competent and trusted professionals. Everyone that works in a hospital must be appropriately skilled and qualified, or else the hospital can face severe penalties. Furthermore, hospitals have a responsibility to supervise their employees. They are associated with the actions of those they hire.

Some common ways in which a hospital can be considered negligent include:

• Negligent hiring: Hospitals must investigate their employees’ backgrounds and degrees to ensure that their patients get the treatment they need. Additionally, they must confirm that they have kept their credentials while working and are licensed. Failure to perform these essential duties is a cause of concern and malpractice.
• Poor firing practices: The hospital must remove healthcare professionals if they cannot perform their job obligations successfully or lack the necessary skills to do it. This especially applies if hospitals receive complaints from their patients about a particular healthcare practitioner. They are required to terminate their association with such employees.
• Understaffing: Understaffed hospitals can cause serious harm to their patients. Your hospital must hire enough professionals to provide you with adequate care. Failure to do this makes them liable.

Therefore, it is possible to file a case against a hospital. However, since legal proceedings and evidence collection are complex tasks, it is best to consult a trusted and experienced attorney.