Savannah Hospital Negligence Lawyer
When negligence by hospital staff causes a patient to suffer harm, negligent parties could be made accountable for their actions. A seasoned Savannah hospital negligence lawyer could evaluate your situation if you suffered injuries due to medical malpractice at a hospital.
Injured patients may be entitled to compensation for pain and suffering as well as economic harm such as added medical expenses and time missed from work. However, it could be challenging to prove liability in a hospital negligence case, so it is wise to retain a malpractice attorney with access to an in-house medical doctor who could use cutting-edge technology in court to substantiate a claim.
The Vicarious Liability of Hospitals
Like other employers, hospitals bear responsibility for the actions of their employees under the theory of vicarious liability. Because of this, a hospital may be held liable when the negligence of a staff member causes injury or death to a patient.
An employee must have been acting in the scope of employment when committing the negligent act or omission that caused the injury in order for liability to extend to the hospital. In many cases, physicians are treated as independent contractors of a hospital rather than employees, so the negligence of a physician may not necessarily create liability for the hospital.
However, some physicians are employed directly by hospitals. In such a situation, the hospital could take on liability for the actions of those doctors. A Savannah hospital negligence attorney could look for circumstances that indicate vicarious liability and, if applicable, work to pursue that avenue for recovery.
Hospital Mistakes That May Lead to Liability
In medical malpractice cases, the healthcare professionals involved should be judged against reasonable standards of care for others in the same circumstances. Because emergency room staff work under difficult conditions and may not know the medical history of a patient, they are typically not held to the same standard as a physician working in a less pressured environment.
Savannah hospital negligence lawyers frequently work with experts to establish the standard of care in a particular situation. Some examples of situations where hospital negligence could lead to liability include errors caused by:
- Surgical errors,
- Failure to diagnose a condition,
- Inadequate staff to patient ratio,
- Poor training of staff,
- Failure to follow sanitary practices,
- Failure to provide timely care,
- Failure to consult medical records, and
- Prescription or delivery of incorrect medication or dosage.
Compensation May Offset a Variety of Factors
Patients injured by hospital negligence may be entitled to recover compensation for a variety of factors stemming from their treatment. If such negligence causes a patient’s death, surviving family members may be able to recover for the wrongful death.
The law enables affected patients to seek compensation for both objective economic losses and intangible non-economic harm suffered due to medical negligence. Economic losses usually center around medical costs and lost income, while non-economic harm can entail pain, emotional trauma, suffering, inconvenience, and loss of enjoyment of life or activities. In the case of a wrongful death, survivors can recover the full value of the deceased’s life.
Work with an Experienced Savannah Hospital Negligence Attorney
Negligence cases against hospitals can often be quite complicated. In addition to the medical affidavit requirement that applies to all malpractice cases, a patient injured in an emergency room of a hospital often needs to demonstrate gross negligence or fulfill other rigorous standards to establish liability.
However, an experienced Savannah hospital negligence lawyer should be aware of the challenges and could help collect and preserve evidence to make a case for recovery. To discuss your options with a knowledgeable hospital malpractice attorney, call at any point to schedule a free consultation.
