As a society, we entrust hospitals and medical professionals with our well-being when we are sick or in need of aid. While healthcare providers strive for excellence, there are times where negligence creeps in, resulting in dire consequences for patients. In fact, over 250,000 people every year die in the United States due to medical mistakes and negligence based on data from Johns Hopkins University. What counts as hospital negligence?
What Is Hospital Negligence?
Hospital negligence is also called medical negligence, and it can be a challenging thing to prove in court. Even if a mistake has occurred, it does not automatically equal negligence or something that is worthy of legal action. Medical negligence includes demonstrating that standards of care were violated by a healthcare professional providing you with care, including a nurse, surgeon, or doctor.
However, this mistake needs to lead to harm. Hospital negligence is hard to prove, as no outcome is 100% guaranteed in a healthcare environment. For example, if you have surgery, one of the potential outcomes is an infection. If you receive an infection, it does not necessarily mean that there was hospital negligence. Working with an attorney is essential to build a strong case.
How Can You Demonstrate Negligence?
As we mentioned above, proving hospital negligence can be challenging due to the inherent risk present with many different medical procedures. In order to have a successful case, you need to be able to show that their actions went beyond carelessness and that they were not in line with the care that a competent medical professional in the same situation would provide.
One way that you can work to prove hospital negligence is working with your attorney to consult medical experts. These experts can provide unbiased advice on whether or not the doctor involved provided acceptable care. For example, they might conclude that a competent doctor in the same situation might have ordered different tests based on how you presented at the time of treatment and that this led to your injury or negative outcome.
A negative outcome alone is not enough to show hospital negligence. However, you must have some type of negative consequence in order to collect damages. Your attorney will help you to show that the doctor had a duty of care to you, that the care they provided was not in line with the standard of care, that their deviation from the standard of care caused your injuries, and that you have suffered damages as a result.
Contact Mobley & Brown, LLP for Help With Your Medical Malpractice Case
If you have experienced hospital negligence or you are concerned that , you need the right legal assistance. Our experienced legal team is looking forward to working with you to meet your needs. Call us now at (410) 385-0398.
