If you or a loved one have recently been injured in a medical malpractice accident, you may wonder when can you sue a hospital. The answer is, surprisingly, often. Here are the top five reasons you can sue a hospital for medical malpractice and negligence.
5 Reasons Why You Could Actually Sue a Hospital
Suing a hospital for malpractice or negligence is a serious action and one that requires thought and planning. Before you file your medical negligence lawsuit, learn about five common reasons people sue hospitals, including:
- Misdiagnosis of a medical condition
- Improper medical treatment or administration of the wrong medication
- Lack of necessary medical care or discrimination
- Medical negligence from hospital staff or employees
- Surgical errors or complications that could have been avoided
1. Misdiagnosis of a Medical Condition
One reason people sue hospitals is because of a misdiagnosis. Medical professionals make mistakes, just like everyone else. However, medical experts should never make some mistakes. A misdiagnosis on its own is not necessarily a good reason to sue a hospital. However, if the misdiagnosis qualifies as negligence, you may have an eligible medical negligence lawsuit.
A misdiagnosis can result in you receiving the wrong treatment. The treatment you receive might cause you physical or even emotional harm. In this case, you would likely have a valid claim for compensation. Some of the most common medical conditions that are misdiagnosed include:
- Colorectal cancer
- Lung cancer
- Breast cancer
- Heart attack
- Prostate cancer
- Stroke
Regardless of what condition was misdiagnosed, an experienced medical malpractice attorney can help you determine the strength of your claim.
2. Improper Medical Treatment or Administration of Wrong Medication
Another common reason to sue a hospital under medical malpractice laws is improper medical treatment or administering incorrect medication. An error In the administration of medication is a serious medical issue and can have real repercussions.
The medications hospitals administer can have multiple side effects, even when given in the correct amount. If you have an allergy to certain medications or the wrong dosage was administered to you, it could cause serious physical harm and even death.
Likewise, improper medical treatment can be an issue. Improper medical treatment could mean amputating the wrong limb, which is entirely inappropriate. However, more subtle mistakes could mean the treatment you desperately needed was not given, thereby worsening your condition. All of these medical errors are reasons to sue a hospital.
3. Lack of Necessary Medical Care or Discrimination
You may not think of a hospital as a discrimination hotbed, but some people do have this negative experience in hospitals. If a hospital refuses to treat you for discriminatory reasons, the lack of treatment could result in physical harm and unnecessary medical expenses when you are able to secure treatment.
Examples of discrimination in a medical facility include:
- You walk into a hospital for medical treatment, and another patient of a different race enters the hospital after you but receives treatment first.
- A hospital refuses to treat you because of your race or nationality.
- You work at a hospital and receive worse treatment than your colleagues due to your race or nationality.
Those patients the hospital accepts for treatment may find medical care lacking. If the lack of attention results in physical harm or additional medical expenses, you might consider suing the hospital for medical malpractice.
4. Medical Negligence From Hospital Staff or Employees
Medical negligence is one of the most common reasons for suing a hospital. Medical negligence is a broad term that can refer to many issues within a hospital setting. When a hospital staff member is negligent, it means they made an error that a reasonable person with the same training and job role would not have made.
Even the most respected medical experts can be guilty of medical negligence. Although medical negligence is usually accidental, it can still cause tremendous and lasting harm to the victim. Your negligence claim could focus on one or more medical staff within the hospital. A lawsuit might be your best option if you received damages due to the hospital's negligent errors. A medical negligence lawyer can advise you on your potential lawsuit.
5. Surgical Errors or Complications That Could Have Been Avoided
Unnecessary surgical errors are one of the scariest medical malpractice claims that exist. To exit a surgery only to find the medical staff made serious surgical errors is unthinkable. And yet, surgical errors and other avoidable complications occur in the U.S. Examples of these kinds of medical errors include:
- Injuring a nerve during surgery
- Leaving a piece of equipment inside the body, like a scalpel or sponge
- Amputating the wrong limb or digit
- Administering the wrong dosage of anesthesia
- Operating on the wrong patient
These medical errors can have a lasting impact on the victim. This is especially true if medical experts removed a body part unnecessarily during the surgery. The lasting harm caused by these injuries can be quantified by enormous economic losses. Some of these injuries may be responsible for emotional harm, like pain and suffering. The non-economic damages associated with the emotional distress and physical pain caused by some of these injuries are also substantial and relevant to your lawsuit.
Are You Ready To File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
Suffering an instance of medical malpractice can be physically and mentally damaging. Luckily, there are legal options available to the victims of these injuries. If you have suffered from avoidable medical errors, it may be time to ask an experienced malpractice attorney how to sue a hospital. You deserve compensation for your losses, and you have the legal right and recourse to file a lawsuit in court.
You must seek legal counsel as soon as possible since you do not have unlimited time to file your medical malpractice lawsuit. Medical malpractice law only allows a short time to file your claim, called a statute of limitation. Contact the medical malpractice lawyers at Ratzan Weissman & Boldt to discuss your potential case and get the answers you need.