If a health care provider gives you substandard care or acts carelessly, resulting in an injury, you may be able to file a medical malpractice claim. This could allow you to claim for the damages you suffered as a result of their actions.
In most cases, the health care provider in question may be the liable party. But in some cases, the hospital they were working in may be responsible as well. Here are two instances when this may be possible:
Hospital negligence
If you experienced medical malpractice due to an issue the hospital has control over, you maybe able to hold them answerable. These include poor hygiene, scheduling issues, inadequate staffing and poor hiring practices.
For example, if a hospital allows an incompetent doctor to treat patients, they may be held partly responsible for their mistakes. Before hiring the physician or granting them privileges at the hospital, the facility should have investigated their credentials and conducted background checks to ensure only competent practitioners attend to patients.
Vicarious liability
A hospital may be vicariously liable if their employee injures you. This is because an employer may be legally responsible for the wrongful acts of an employee, provided an injury occurs within the scope of employment. The employee should have been on the clock, doing what they were hired to do, and the employer should have benefited in some way from the employee’s activity.
Medical errors can cause major problems, and in some cases, those errors are entirely preventable. If you experienced medical negligence, consider getting legal guidance to determine all the liable parties.
