How Can Overtime Impact Your Work Injury Claim?

When people suffer an injury at a hospital, they can file a claim. To recover damages, they must prove that the doctor and staff treating them were negligent and that the hospital is responsible for their injury.

How Can Victims of Medical Malpractice Prove Negligence?

There are many medical errors doctors and medical staff can make that result in injuries to patients. Some of the most common mistakes are:

• Wrong diagnosis or treatment
• Surgical errors 
• Prescribing the improper medicine or giving an incorrect dose
• Failure to properly sanitize equipment, leading to infections

Although each mistake is unique, they are all forms of negligence. When patients are victims of a medical error, they must prove the doctor or medical staff was negligent to win a case against them. To prove negligence, the patient must show three things:

1. The doctor or medical staff owed a duty of care to the patient. A duty of care is usually easy to prove because anyone who treats a patient automatically owes a duty of care.
2. The doctor's and medical staff’s actions did not meet the duty of care. This element is harder to prove. First, the patient must explain what duty the doctor owed. Doctor's and medical staff’s actions are judged by what a reasonable medical professional in a similar situation would do. The patient must then prove that the healthcare provider did not meet that duty.
3. The patient’s injury resulted from the provider's failure to meet the duty of care. Patients must show that they would not have suffered an injury if the doctor or healthcare worker was not negligent. 

When Can A Victim File a Claim against the Hospital?

The hospital is responsible for the training and actions of the medical professionals they employ. Nurses and medical staff are typically employees of the hospital. Doctors, however, can either be employees or independent contractors. The hospital is not responsible for the actions of doctors who are independent contractors. 

Filing a claim against a hospital is complicated. A hospital injury lawyer can help victims fight to recover damages for their injuries. They have extensive knowledge about medical malpractice and can help victims decide if they should file a claim against the hospital or the individual medical provider. Further, they understand the evidence the victim will need to prove that the medical error caused the injury.