Common Hospital Errors That Can Lead to Legal Action

Patients can suffer injuries or die when hospitals fail to act competently. Competency involves anticipating health dangers, providing quality staff and equipment, and fully monitoring the care of everyone in the hospital for emergency care, scheduled surgeries, or other reasons. Our medical malpractice lawyers work with hospital administrators, physicians, and other medical experts to show what hospital errors occur, what preventive measures are necessary, and what corrective or stabilizing medical care is essential.

Generally, hospitals are vicariously liable for the negligence of any of their employees, including ER staff, nurses, lab technicians, and physicians. Vicariously liable means that if the employee is negligent, the employer is negligent.

Hospitals are also liable for breaching their duty to provide competent medical care if the breach causes a patient harm. The following are some of the types of incompetent medical care that hospitals commit.

Oversight malpractice

Hospitals have a duty to comply with the various federal and Washington D.C. laws that regulate healthcare. These facilities must also comply with acceptable healthcare practices for hospitals in their region. Hospitals may be accountable if they fail to:

• Properly vet all of their employees and contractors to ensure they have the proper credentials, licenses, education, and experience. Hospitals should also conduct background checks to inquire about any complaints or disciplinary action against the people they employ.
• Ensure they have enough qualified staff for every type of healthcare service they perform – considering each patient’s age and health condition.
• Provide sterile and sanitary rooms, equipment, and medical devices.
• Have policies and procedures for admitting patients, providing healthcare during each patient’s stay, monitoring the health and safety of their patients throughout their stay, and having proper discharge procedures.
• Keep current with the latest public health safety issues.
• Take steps to address the proper communication within hospital departments/practices and across hospital departments/practices.
• Comply with many other health safety issues.

Emergency malpractice

Patients may need emergency care after a car accident, slip and fall, or another type of accident. They may also need emergency care for many different illnesses and diseases. Hospitals may be liable if they fail to ensure that their ER services provide quality care. Hospitals should have strategies to avoid these common ER mistakes:

• Improper diagnosis
• Improper triage
• Delays in care
• Medication mistakes
• Failure to consult with specialists when necessary
• Laboratory and testing mistakes
• Failure to comply with the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA)
• Failure to provide follow-up care

Surgical malpractice

One of the main services hospitals provide is surgical care for broken bones, nerve disorders, heart disease, cancer, and virtually every type of health disorder. Hospitals can be held liable if they fail to provide proper oversight of the surgical procedures they authorize and fail to have competent medical protocols in place to handle common surgical errors, including:

• Operating on the wrong person or body part
• Leaving foreign objects in a patient
• Failing to anticipate and respond to common complications for each type of surgery
• Performing the surgery incorrectly
• Anesthesia errors
• Failing to monitor the patient after surgery

Birth injuries

Most birth deliveries occur at local hospitals. Hospitals need to ensure that the obstetricians, gynecologists, and other healthcare professionals they hire or grant privileges have the skills and experience – and equipment – to anticipate and prevent common birth injuries. Common types of labor and delivery mistakes include:

• Failing to diagnose and treat preeclampsia
• Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors
• Failing to monitor and respond to low oxygen levels
• Delaying a Cesarean
• Providing the wrong drugs to induce labor, treat infections, or other medication errors
• Anesthesia mistakes
• Failing to monitor fetal distress
• Excessive use of force
• Failing to monitor the umbilical cord
• Failing to observe and treat many other birth injury complications

Hospital-acquired infections

A common risk for patients who enter or stay in a hospital is the risk of a hospital-acquired infection (HIA). HIAs are also known as nosocomial infections; according to the Cleveland Clinic, “most HAIs are avoidable.”Hospitals should recognize the risk factors, which include poor hygiene, the failure to sterilize equipment, and overusing antibiotics. Hospitals need to prioritize monitoring patients who have any surgical procedure or treatment for the development of an HIA.

HAIs are infections that happen within:

• 48 hours after a patient arrives or is admitted
• 3 days after the hospital discharges a patient
• 30 days of a surgical procedure.

People with compromised immune systems are at high risk of HIAs, which are caused by bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

Hospitals should understand the symptoms, causes, complications, diagnostic tests, and treatments for hospital-acquired infections.

Diagnostic errors

One of the key functions of hospitals and their staff is to properly diagnose a patient’s health condition. Hospitals and staff members should understand which tests to order. Hospitals should have in-house or prompt access to X-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, MRIs, bloodwork evaluation, and many other types of diagnostic tests—and the medical personnel who can read and interpret these tests.

Diagnostic errors include delaying a diagnosis and making an incorrect diagnosis. A delayed or misdiagnosis can be fatal, can prevent or delay the use of corrective treatments, and can cause direct harm to a patient.

Other types of hospital errors

Hospitals provide various types of care, including diagnosing a patient’s health disorder, treating the disorder, and monitoring the patient during and after treatment. In addition to the errors discussed above, hospitals may be liable for any other harm that occurs due to improper medical care.

For example, doctors and nurses need to ensure that patients receive the correct medications in the correct amounts, at the correct times, and in the correct way (such as oral or through an IV). The hospital should take steps to avoid bedsores, a common problem for bedridden patients. Hospitals should also provide or arrange for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other types of rehabilitative care.

Hospitals should be ready to handle any complications, the emotional health of the patient in addition to the patient’s physical health, who can visit with the patients, and many other daily issues and interactions.

At Paulson & Nace, our medical malpractice lawyers understand why hospital negligence occurs and how to hold hospitals accountable.

Although past results can’t guarantee future outcomes, our team is proud of the success we’ve had in representing clients who suffered injuries because of medical malpractice. In one case, we obtained a $50 million verdict against Georgetown University Hospital for a young mother who suffered injuries during childbirth. Our hospital malpractice recoveries also include:

• $10.8 verdict against Raleigh General Hospital for a child who developed cerebral palsy when the child did not receive the proper amount of oxygen during the delivery
• $1.75 million in a medical malpractice case against City Hospital
• $600,000 verdict against Washington Hospital

Please contact Paulson & Nace, PLLC, through this contact form or by calling our office.