Hospital Negligence and Malpractice Cause of Action
Recovery for patients injured by hospital staff and medical professionals
Many local hospitals throughout West Virginia and the country have merged to form large corporate businesses. Although this trend reduces health care costs, it may limit the professional relationships between staff and patients if detached executives make important decisions and facilities focus more on profits than care. As the healthcare system changes, some patients may become numbers instead of individuals in need of compassion and assistance.
Calwell Luce diTrapano PLLC accepts challenging personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death and class action claims naming medical professionals, hospitals and insurance companies as defendants. Our experience gives us the power and conviction to stand up to doctors and their insurance companies if they have caused our clients harm.
Respondeat superior
Under the concept of respondeat superior, employers are liable for the acts of their workers acting within the scope of their employment. Respondeat superior allows you to pursue a medical malpractice claim against a hospital or clinic when its nurses, doctors or other staff injure you.
Hospital-acquired infections
Many hospital-acquired infections (also called HAIs or nosocomial infections) are gram-negative, antibiotic-resistant diseases that can spread quickly between patients and are difficult to treat. HAIs are transmitted by nurses and staff who fail at properly washing their hands and sterilize equipment and tools. HAIs can leave you sicker than when you entered the hospital, possibly for a routine or minor procedure.
Nursing errors
Nurses are on the frontlines of healthcare. Typically they spend more time with patients than do doctors and assume many of the hands-on tasks related to patient care. Therefore, understaffed wards and overworked nurses create a particularly dangerous hospital environment, making nurses prone to serious mistakes.
Surgical mistakes
The hospital may be liable for doctors’ negligence if treatment was provided while you were admitted to the facility or for an outpatient procedure. In these cases, hospitals are named as defendants, in addition to the surgeons, obstetricians, orthopedics, cardiologists and anesthesiologists who made the mistakes.
Falls
Nurses and staff are responsible for assisting patients with activities of daily living (ADL), including helping them get into and out of bed, use the toilet, wash or perform other tasks. Inattention to the essential ADL activities puts patients at high risk of falls. Hospitals have a duty to screen patients for risk of falls and to take appropriate precautions when treating seniors and patients whose balance and mobility are affected by prescription medications or leg or head injuries.
Consult our Charleston lawyers about recovering for a hospital mistake
For more information about medical malpractice claims against a West Virginia hospital, call Calwell Luce diTrapano PLLC at 304-400-6558 or contact our law firm online to schedule an appointment.
