ER and Hospital Negligence
Lawyer

ER / Hospital Negligence Attorneys

As a patient at a hospital, you expect the highest standard of care when getting treated. Medical malpractice, or hospital negligence, occurs when a medical professional deviates from the accepted medical standard of care. This occurs when the healthcare professional engages in some act that is not considered standard in the medical community. For example, if your doctor fails to order X-rays and every other doctor in the community would have ordered X-rays, then your doctor would most likely be found liable for hospital negligence. Medical negligence needs experienced and skilled attorneys to be able to prove that the healthcare provider deviated from the standard of care.

What is the Medical Standard of Care?

The medical standard of care is a term used to determine if the healthcare professional was negligent. For example, healthcare professionals must adhere to mandatory medical requirements to ensure that their patients are handled in a safe manner. Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath to make sure that they act diligently and ethically. If a doctor acts outside the Hippocratic Oath, they most likely have deviated from the standard of care. The courts will compare the performance of the health care professional to the performance of what a reasonable health care professional would have done.

Who Could Be Liable for Hospital Negligence?

All healthcare professionals that were involved in bringing about the injury could be held liable for hospital negligence. This includes:

• Doctors
• Hospitals
• Pharmaceutical companies
• Nurses
• Surgeons
• Physician’s assistants
• Nurse practitioner
• Radiologist
• Urgent Care Center
• Dentists
• Orthodontist
• Chiropractors
• Pharmacists
• Anesthesiologists

The list above is not intended to be the entire exhaustive list of everyone who could be held liable. In certain cases, multiple parties could be held liable in a hospital negligence claim. For example, an anesthesiologist and the surgeon who worked together during the surgery could be held liable together in a hospital negligence claim. In order to determine which party acted negligent, contact our attorneys today for a free no-risk consultation where we can take a look at all the parties involved and determine the at-fault parties.

Elements of Hospital Negligence

The following elements are needed when proving hospital negligence. Some of these elements may require extensive research and evidence, which is why it is important to hire an experienced California hospital negligence attorney. Our experienced hospital negligence attorneys in California and Nevada are very knowledgeable and well-versed in the field of hospital negligence law. We will work to establish that all of these elements are met.

• The standard of care is not met and is in violation
• A duty was owed to the patient by the physician
• Negligence caused an injury with the patient
• Serious damages occurred due to the injury

Examples of Hospital Negligence in Medical Malpractice Claims

Below are a few examples of hospital negligence that can happen at a hospital or emergency room (ER):

• Consent problems
• The facility is unsafe
• The facility is not sanitary
• Failing to monitor the patient during and after treatment
• Failing to identify life-threatening issues such as a stroke or heart attack
• Failing to identify an emergency when it happens
• Lab results misread or not used for the patient
• Medication Errors: Incorrect drug used, wrong drug dosage, drug allergy
• Medical Misdiagnosis
• Pain and suffering by the patient
• Staff is untrained or understaffed
• Surgery errors and unnecessary surgery
• Testing was not completed
• Treatment errors / Failed to treat
• Vital signs were not monitored, failing to act on vital sign problems
• Wrongful death

This list is not meant to be the entire exhaustive list, if you have experienced other types of injuries due to the negligence of your health care provider not mentioned in this list, contact our attorneys today. If you have experienced any one of the following hospital negligence examples, you should consult with a skilled California hospital negligence lawyer to see what you may be entitled to legally.

Filing a Lawsuit Against a Hospital

Filing a lawsuit against a hospital and its staff is a very complicated process and it is not easy to do. For example, there need to be investigations as to which staff you are trying to file a suit against. We recommend that you consult with an attorney about your hospital negligence claim to see if there is a viable case to file. All of your information, treatment, and medical records will be reviewed with medical malpractice attorney experts on the team.

Hospital Negligence Medical Malpractice FAQ’s

Below are some of the most commonly asked questions that our hospital negligence clients have when consulting us about their case.

Can a Hospital Be Sued for Not Treating You?

Yes. If you are having a medical emergency, are in pain, or are seriously injured, the hospital needs to provide treatment for you, even if you don’t have health insurance. There are state and federal laws that mandate hospitals to provide emergency treatment to all incoming patients.

Can You Sue a Hospital for Early Discharge?

Yes. If you have been improperly discharged early from a hospital when you shouldn’t have been, you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit with your lawyer. This usually happens when the hospital is very busy and/or there is low staff available for patient care. A patient shouldn’t be discharged if they haven’t been properly treated yet and their condition is not stable.

Can You Sue an Emergency Room (ER) for Misdiagnosis?

Yes. As an ER patient, you can sue the ER and doctor(s) if they misdiagnose your injury or illness. The misdiagnosis would fall under a medical malpractice claim, and both the hospital and doctors can be held responsible. It’s important that you ask questions when being treated to help prevent misdiagnosis, as mistakes can happen in the emergency room. If you find yourself in a situation where you are misdiagnosed and it actually caused you harm, you should consult with our medical malpractice attorneys.

Can You Sue a Hospital for Negligence?

Yes. As an ER patient or Hospital patient, you can sue the hospital if you were being treated by the hospital staff.  The physicians/doctors, nurses, technicians, and hospital staff are responsible for your care. If an injury is caused by their care due to negligence, then the hospital and staff involved may be liable for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Can You Sue a Hospital for Wrongful Death?

Yes. A wrongful death lawsuit can be filed against a hospital that caused the patient’s death due to negligence. The lawsuit can be filed by the spouse or family members of the patient who died. The hospital, doctors, physicians, nurses, and medical staff members employed by the hospital can be sued for medical malpractice. However, the statute of limitations in most states (such as California and Nevada) is two years for a wrongful death claim. The wrongful death claim should be filed before the statute of limitations is exceeded.