When a loved one is admitted to the hospital, one presumes they are in good hands. Whether it is for a planned operation, he or she fell ill or required emergency treatment, a medical facility, such as a hospital, is considered a safe place to be while medical professionals provide them with medical care and treatment. Nonetheless, issues could occur during one’s time at a hospital, and some of these issues could be a product of negligence or mistakes. Unfortunately, these errors could result in the loss of a patient’s life, causing their loved ones to question why this occurred and who is to blame.
Hospital negligence
Following the death of a patient, the surviving family members may question whether the medical professionals or the hospital may have played a role in it. While illnesses and injuries cannot be stopped, the quality of medical care can be controlled. When a hospital is named in a wrongful death suit, it is likely that the surviving family member is asserting medical malpractice. This means that the treatment provided to the patient deviated from the established professional standard of care.
Negligence is often asserting in these matters. Most commonly, these suits assert negligent conduct such as the misdiagnosis of an illness or condition, mistakes made in the prescribing or administering of medications, negligence in the care for a patient or surgical errors.
Why name the hospital?
While many medical malpractice actions filed following the death of the patient assert the wrongdoings and negligence of a medical professional, it is also possible that the hospital acted negligently and independent of the actions of the medical professional. This, it often makes sense to include both the hospital and any relevant medical professionals when filing a wrongful death suit.
The loss of a loved one is a difficult event to cope with, especially when it happens unexpectedly during a hospital stay. Much trust goes into the medical professionals that treat a patient as well as the facility they are at; thus, it is often challenging to accept that their negligent acts caused the death of a loved one. While nothing can undo the harm and bring back a loved one, a wrongful death action could help offset some of the losses suffered. This civil suit not only establishes cause and liability but also help calculate the damages caused by the incident.