Our New York hospital negligence lawyers hold health care institutions accountable. Hospitals, clinics and nursing homes have a duty to provide adequate care for their patients. When facilities fail in their duties, patients may suffer serious injuries. Many instances of medical malpractice have facility negligence as the underlying cause. Ultimately, a hospital is responsible for its staff, grounds and services. If a hospital fails to perform adequate background checks on staff, hires personnel without the requisite experience or hires an individual with a criminal record, then that hospital may have acted negligently.
When a hospital's negligence results in the injury of a patient, they may be liable for any damages the victim suffers. At Queller, Fisher, Washor, Fuchs & Kool And The Law Office Of William A. Gallina, LLP, our hospital negligence lawyers have been representing victims for over 60 years. We realize that a hospital's negligence can have severely negative effects on patients. As a result, we are committed to defending the rights of those who have been unnecessarily injured.
How Does Hospital Negligence Occur?
Hospitals are responsible for all of the actions of their employees. When an employee acts in a negligent matter, such as a doctor failing to check a patient's medical history, the hospital may be found liable for any damages that occur.
A hospital may be found liable if a patient was injured or killed due to any of the following:
- Negligent hiring practices
- Staff received improper training
- Understaffing
- Lack of supervision
- Failure to monitor patients after surgery
- Medication errors
- Failure to report to physicians
- Nursing negligence
- Physician negligence
- Emergency room errors
While all of the aforementioned actions may constitute hospital malpractice, they are not, in and of themselves, grounds for a lawsuit. In order to have a valid lawsuit against a hospital, injured patients must be able to prove that the negligent actions of the hospital or its employees were the direct cause of the injury. Furthermore, the injured patient must have suffered economic or non-economic damages in order to have a valid claim. Economic damages are any financial strain that may have been placed upon the victim, such as lost wages or medical bills not covered by insurance. Non-economic damages are any lasting physical and emotional stress caused by the injury.
How Does Emergency Room Negligence Occur?
When being admitted to the emergency room, injured and sick patients assume that they can trust the doctors and nurses to stabilize their injuries and illnesses. Unfortunately, emergency room physicians and nurses do not always succeed in effectively stabilizing the conditions of patients. In many cases, the emergency room staff's failure to stabilize a patient is unavoidable due to the severity of the individual's injury. In some cases, however, the medical staff's inability to stabilize a patient is the result of medical negligence. In fact, emergency room errors are among the most common types of medical malpractice. As a result, patients who have suffered additional injury or illness due to an emergency room error may have grounds to file a lawsuit against the hospital and medical staff.
Our New York hospital negligence lawyers have been defending the rights of patients for over 60 years. We have seen first-hand the severe hardships that victims of negligence may be forced to face. As a result, we are committed to helping our clients overcome these hardships by pursuing maximum compensation for them in court.
Do I Have Grounds For An Emergency Room Error Claim?
Patients who have suffered additional illness or injury after a trip to the emergency room do not automatically have grounds to file a lawsuit. In order to have grounds for a claim, the injured patient must be able to show that the hospital staff acted negligently. The medical staff has acted negligently if they did not follow the same standard of care as other medical professionals in the same practice area.
Patients may have been victims of hospital malpractice if they suffered further injury or illness due to any of the following:
- The ER staff failed to admit a patient in critical need of care
- The patient was discharged from the ER after having their symptoms misdiagnosed
- The doctor failed to order the proper tests to diagnose the patient's illness
- The medical staff failed to accurately review the patient's tests
- The medical professionals neglected to treat the patient properly
- The medical professionals failed to respond to the patient’s injury or illness in a timely manner
How Can Our New York Hospital Negligence Lawyers Help Victims Of Hospital Malpractice?
Due to the complex nature of medical malpractice cases, it is important that injured patients seek the counsel of a skilled hospital negligence lawyer. An experienced attorney will investigate the conditions that led to the patient's injury, use medical experts to help gather and review the records surrounding the injury, accurately evaluate the monetary damages suffered by the patient and pursue maximum compensation if the injured patient has a valid claim. Our hospital negligence lawyers use a process with a history of success for handling hospital malpractice and emergency room error claims. We hire trusted medical experts who assist us in gathering and reviewing medical records and other evidence. We use the information obtained by our experts to determine the hospital’s role in our client's injury. When the evidence suggests our client has a valid claim, we will file a lawsuit to recoup any damages they may have suffered. If the case goes to trial, our experts will testify on our client's behalf to help prove the hospital acted negligently. Our process has led to multi-million dollar recoveries.*