When reasonable care is not taken to prevent injury to a hospital patient, the end result can be a form of medical malpractice called hospital negligence. Exposure to unreasonable hazards, substandard care, unclean facilities, tainted instruments and equipment are but a few examples of hospital negligence. Hospitals are responsible for providing healthcare that is beneficial to its patients but unfortunately, in busy healthcare facilities negligence is not a rare occurrence.
Medical mistakes can and do happen in hospitals from giving a patient the wrong drug to treating the wrong patient. In addition, hospitals are responsible for the errors made by their healthcare professionals, staff, and employees which lead to serious or permanent patient injury.
Hospital Liability
A hospital is liable for the following acts of negligence occurring within its facility:
- Intentional acts that harm patients
- Negligent acts that harm patients
- Negligent supervision of employees or medical staff members that results in patient injuries
- Failure to comply with laws governing the reporting and management of public health diseases and violent injuries
Intentionally harmful acts, while rare, pose a special legal problem. The degree of the hospital's liability depends on the foreseeability of the employee’s injurious actions. While the hospital would have some liability for any harm to the patient, this becomes more important if the hospital should have anticipated the actions. If the hospital does not screen employees for potential mental problems or past episodes of aberrant behavior, its failure to do so would be a serious breach of the duty owed the patient.
Negligent Acts
Negligent acts that directly harm patients usually involve decisions by administrators that affect health care delivery to a specific patient, as opposed to policy decisions that may influence the care of all patients. Legally, the most dangerous acts are those that involve medical decision making. Administrative personnel are not permitted to direct either physicians or nurses in any activities that require the exercise of their respective professional judgments. However, administrative personnel become involved in medical decision making is in deciding whether a patient will be admitted or treated by the hospital or clinic. The admission of a patient to a hospital is an act of medical judgment.
Hospital Protocols
The most important area of liability for administrative decisions is in the establishment and maintenance of hospital protocols. These may be infection control protocols, incident reporting protocols, or any other protocols that influence the quality of medical care services. If a patient is injured because a protocol is negligently drafted or enforced, the hospital will be liable for any patient's injuries resulting from the negligence.
Proper Reporting
The most common violation of the public health laws is the failure of the hospital to ensure that proper reports are made when a reportable condition is treated. Most states require the reporting of gunshot wounds, communicable diseases, venereal diseases, and possible child abuse. These reporting laws create a duty for both the physician and the hospital because the hospital's duty to report is usually independent of the physician's duty. While many of the reporting laws carry only token penalties for a failure to report, their violation can also result in civil liability. This is especially true of the venereal disease and child abuse reporting laws.
