Hospitals have a legal and ethical obligation to ensure your safety and well-being. Sadly, they are failing much too often in doing so. Hospital negligence is fast becoming one of the most common causes of injury and death, especially for the elderly, vulnerable adults and children.
Hospital negligence includes the hospital’s liability for its own employees including doctors, nurses, therapists and caretakers and if it fails to maintain and repair its equipment. A hospital that hires independent contractors may be liable for their negligence also, in some circumstances.
You Have a Right to Safety as a Patient in a Hospital
You have a right to safety while you are in a hospital’s care. For instance, if you can’t walk, the hospital should give you a wheelchair. If you’re bedridden, your hospital bed should have bed rails so you don’t roll out of bed and suffer injuries from the fall. Additionally, emergency and nurse call lights should be working and easily accessible to you, wherever you are confined, including in restrooms.
<
Common Causes of Hospital Injuries
All it takes is one or two negligent or careless caretakers who fail to follow standard hospital safety protocols for a serious accident or death to happen. Here are some of the most common hospital injuries:
- Emergency room misdiagnosis
- Delivery room errors
- Mistakes in medication doses and administration
- Surgical errors
- Failure to monitor patients or record vital information in a patient’s chart
- Failure to respond to a patient’s call for help
- Anesthesia errors
- Failure to strap a patient to a surgical table
- Discharging a patient without transferring patient to someone else’s care
- Allowing a patient to drive while under the influence of pain medication
Holding Hospitals Responsible for Negligent Hiring & Management
A hospital can also be held liable for negligent hiring and supervising its employees and for failing to maintain and repair its equipment. Hospitals must:
- Verify that employees are properly licensed, that licenses are current and that employees stay current on continuing education obligations
- Establish proper safety and sanitation protocols to ensure patient safety
- Properly staff the facility
- Ensure patient confidentiality and securely store medical records
If any of these failures led to your or your loved one’s injury, you may have a claim for compensation. It is best to seek out experienced legal representation to learn about your rights and discuss the options available to you.
Call for a Free Consultation to Discuss Your Hospital Injury
If you or a loved one was injured during a hospital stay, please call our Texas law firm— The Law Offices of Randall D. Moore, PLLC—today at 817-697-2116 or email us to arrange a free consultation. Attorney Randall D. Moore has the experience representing hospital injury victims; he doesn’t shy away from taking on cases against large institutions—in fact, he knows that is where he is needed most.
You deserve compensation for the injuries you are now suffering from. Call to get our help in recovering that compensation for you. We’ll stand by you throughout the process.