Personal Injury: Liability in Medical Malpractice

In medical malpractice, the error or negligence committed by a medical practitioner is often taken into consideration. Even if most cases are caused by the medical practitioner, other individuals or entities that can also be held liable. Ask an attorney for personal injury legal advice before filing charges against these persons or entities.

Hospitals

Hospitals may either be private or public entities. In both principles of negligence and vicarious liability, a hospital can be held liable for medical malpractice actions.

• Negligence: A medical staff of the hospital should consist of licensed physicians and health care providers. Before hiring someone, the hospital should make reasonable inquiries into an applicant's education, training and licensing. If an incompetent staff injures a patient, the hospital would be liable under the doctrine of “corporate negligence” for negligent supervision or retention. It is also negligence if a hospital fails to investigate the credentials of a physician before giving him privileges at the hospital, or letting him treat patients.

Shortage of nurses can also be blamed to the hospital. It is their responsibility to ensure that there is sufficient number of nurses on duty to maintain quality patient care. Failure to follow the orders of a patient's private attending physician is also considered negligence. If the hospital finds out that a private physician's treatment plan is contradicted but fails to make reasonable inquiry about it to the physician, the hospital could also be found liable.

Hospitals may be held liable for not protecting patients from harm, inadequate clinical tests, not keeping medical records, and not properly admitting and discharging patients. Federal and state statutes also prohibit them from refusing to treat or admit people based on race, color, religion or national origin, or on inability to pay for treatment.

• Vicarious liability: This means that a party is responsible not for its own negligence, but for the negligence of another. In this case, the hospital may be liable under the legal doctrine “respondeat superior” if an employee acting within the scope of employment was negligent. This also applies to acts or omissions of contractors who operate emergency rooms and outpatient facilities. Respondeat superior may apply to physicians who are also independent contractors.

Pharmaceutical Companies

Pharmaceutical companies may also be held liable for injuries that were acquired due to the intake of their manufactured drug, especially if they fail to warn physicians of its potential dangers. It is their duty to research about the risks before sending it out to the market to ensure the safety of consumers.

However, companies cannot be held liable if they were able to inform the physician about the drug’s risks because their duty is to the physicians. Physicians, on the other hand, are liable if they fail to inform patients about the risks or if they gave the inappropriate prescription to the patient.


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