A hospital should be a place where a patient is treated carefully and professionally when he is at his most vulnerable. In most cases, the results are unsure due to missteps, miscommunication, and deficient care. If you have been the victim of an unexpected injury which resulted from a healthcare facility or healthcare provider’s failure to deliver appropriate care, you may want to consult with a Philadelphia Hospital Negligence Lawyer to see how the law can be used to help you understand what occurred and how you can protect your legal rights. A health care provider’s negligent action may be more than just a mistake with care.
What Counts As Hospital Negligence?
Typically, hospital negligence describes when the hospital failed to address their patient to a reasonably careful healthcare provider given the circumstances. There are numerous hospital procedures, and a patient could fall victim to several kinds of mistakes by a doctor.
They can include failing to closely monitor a patient’s condition, giving the wrong medicine or dosage, not noticing the important signs, not providing timely care, or failing to provide important information to the patient. Staffing issues, wrong procedures, documentation and not monitoring the patients are all things that can lead to preventable patient harm.
Common Types Of Hospital Errors
The various forms of hospital related negligence are dependent on the condition of the patient and the treatment for which he is undergoing.
Medication Errors: This can happen when a patient is given a wrong medicine, a wrong dose of medicine or a medicine that is incompatible with another medicine. Sometimes these errors can result in serious consequences.
Diagnostic Errors: Some diagnosis can be missed, a failure to undertake relevant testing. A condition can be much more serious than diagnosed if the diagnosis is somewhat delayed.
Surgical Errors: Failure to operate on the correct area can be a serious cause of complications, being unattentive when operating on a patient or not closely monitoring pre and post surgical conditions.
Active monitoring is a must for patients who have just had surgery, or are suffering from serious illnesses. If warning signs are not identified, and addressed, there may be complications.
Hospital patient monitoring equipment representing medical care and patient safety.
Why Acting Promptly Matters
Time can be very significant, the law of Pennsylvania typically sets a two-year statute of limitations for seeking damages due to negligence for personal injury or wrongful death.
The exact deadline will be dependent on the nature of the individual case, such as when the injury took place and reasonable ignorance of the injury would have been discovered. There have been cases where courts have interpreted the discovery rule.
Getting ready for early preparation is also likely to include access to medical records and identification of appropriate medical providers, efforts to keep documentation, and comprehension of what occurs while it materializes.
Medical malpractice lawyer reviewing hospital records with an injured patient.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can A Hospital Be Held Responsible For Negligence?
Yes but it depends on the situation. A claim can be lodged at any hospital, doctors practice, nurse’s practice or any other health care provider under any situation. The process of finding responsibility should include an analysis of who was involved in the care provision, what happened and the legal relationship between the parties.
Does A Bad Medical Outcome Automatically Mean Negligence?
No, although proper medical care can be applied, some complications can be seen. Factors that generally would require proof of a negligence claim would include that such standard of care has been violated and that such violation caused harm to compensation.
What Evidence Can Support A Hospital Negligence Case?
The medical records, diagnostic information, prescriptions, bills, treatment history, witness information and expert medical opinion could be relevant. Depending on the nature of the supposedly negligent act, there will be the correct specifications for the evidence.
Conclusion
Even if being treated by a professional medical staff, having an injury afterwards can cause many patients and families to be confronted with difficult questions regarding what happened and who could have been responsible. Examining the medical records, the course of treatment history and the applicable standard of care can help to find out if there is a case to be pursued.
If you have suffered medical negligence in Philadelphia, possibly taking the next action of hiring a lawyer is Eisenberg Winkler Jeck Schwartz Schoenhaus & Sherry, P.C. to help you navigate the legal process and determine if there are opportunities for compensation.