Hospitals are legally obligated to use professional and due care when handling patients. If a hospital, through its employees, fails to exercise this due care, it is subject to a charge of medical malpractice. A plaintiff who brings a medical malpractice suit against a hospital has the burden of showing that the hospital's commission or omission is responsible for the harm suffered by the patient. If a patient can show this, he has established liability and can proceed with his case.
Who's Responsible?
The Supreme Court in Abernathy v. Sisters of St. Mary's abolished the doctrine of charitable immunity which shielded hospitals from charges of malpractice by patients. The Court ruled "A nongovernmental charitable institution is liable for its own negligence and the negligence of its agents and employees acting within the scope of their employment." This ruling set the pace for tort reform legislation involving hospital malpractice. Since the 2005 tort reform, the law of respondent superior refutes any assertion by a hospital that its employees are independent contractors and any malpractice on their part should be against them and not the hospital. It is basically established that direct liability by any hospital employee, whether a physician, a nurse, a technician, and in some cases, even a janitor, is also the hospital's vicarious liability.
One exception is that of an independent doctor with privileges at the defendeant hospital. If the doctor's patients are billed through his office and not through the hospital, courts have held these doctors to be independent contractors. However, there are exceptions to this rule which courts determine on a case by case basis. The court in Gridley v. Johnson held that "the fact the defendant doctors here were not employees of the defendant hospital does not necessarily mean the hospital cannot be held for adverse effects of treatment or surgery approved by the doctors." Yet this is just one of a few opinions that refute the general rule about independent doctors.
Hospital Liability
Hospital liability is based on the theory defined by MAI 11.06 which states that liability arises from"the failure to use that degree of skill and learning ordinarily exercised by members of the defendant’s profession in the same or similar circumstances." Therefore a hospital, through its employees, is held to the standard of care exercised by members of the medical profession. Failing this, liability ensues.
A hospital's liability can arise from a number of circumstances:
Plaintiffs outside the medical community are at a disadvantage in most cases simply because they generally do not have the medical knowledge nor the access to the records, test results and other documents that can show a malpractice has occurred. Additionally, an investigation has to be conducted, timelines have to be established, experts have to be consulted to determine whether there was a breach of medical standards. Lawyers often use expert witnesses to determine and establish causation and liability.
Varying state statutes set a time period by which a plaintiff must submit reports on the liability of the hospital and/or its employees. If this time limit is exceeded, the case may be nullified.
Talk to a Medical Malpractice Attorney
An experienced attorney knows how to follow the paper trail, whom to consult, the witnesses to question in order to establish a hospital's culpability. If you have suffered harm because of medical malpractice, it is essential that you consult with an attorney to determine the feasibility of your case and to calculate the compensation that is due to you.
