People in Brooklyn trust their medical providers to do what’s best for them. They know that New York City offers some of the best healthcare in the world. So when there’s a problem with care, it’s a very big letdown. Of course, not every bad outcome in medicine is malpractice. Sometimes there’s just nothing a medical team can do. And at other times, legitimate mistakes that are made. Demonstrating hospital negligence is key in a lawsuit. There are several ways to do that.
Why sue a hospital?
It seems logical to blame the provider for negligent care. But in some cases, it can be tough to determine who made a mistake. If there’s a problem with a surgery, that could be due to improperly sterilized equipment, the anesthesiologist, the surgeon or a nurse. At other times, suing the hospital is the best way to go after a negligent doctor. This is especially true if they’re an employee of the institution. If your provider is an independent contractor, you will likely need to sue them individually.
Grounds for suing a hospital for negligence
There are many failures that can show that hospital negligence has occurred. For example, if the hospital pharmacy gives you an incorrect medication, that can be negligence. If the team of technicians neglects to properly sanitize equipment, that is also evidence of negligence. If staff doesn’t follow standard medical guidelines, for example, by re-using equipment only designed for a single use, that may also be negligence.
Problems during or after a procedure can also be evidence of negligence. One example of this is surgical errors. Unfortunately, it’s fairly common for surgeons and their nurses to leave things inside patients after an operation. Something like a used surgical sponge can cause real problems if it’s left inside the body. That kind of error can lead to problems like fistulas, infections and internal bleeding.