What Do You Need to Sue a Hospital for Malpractice?

If you’re ill or injured, you have the right to expect that you will receive responsible, attentive care when you visit a hospital for treatment. However, negligent medical errors occur far more often than many people realize, as researchers have pointed out in the prominent medical journal Studies in Health Technology and Informatics.

Researchers estimate that medical errors account for up to 251,000 deaths each year in the United States – far more than the numbers in other industrialized countries. This makes medical errors the third leading cause of death in the United States.

The experienced hospital injury lawyers at Finz & Finz, P.C. have seen firsthand the impact that failures of hospital administrators and staff can have on patients and their families. We have the skills, knowledge, and resources to help people who have been injured in New York and Long Island seek the justice they deserve when they’ve been the victim of medical malpractice in a hospital.

Get started on your path to recovery by calling us or contacting our Long Island medical malpractice lawyer online for a free discussion about your situation.

What You Need to Prove Hospital Negligence

To prove hospital malpractice, you must show that a healthcare professional or facility did not meet an acceptable standard of care. There are standards that healthcare workers must adhere to, both by regulation and by training. If the provider failed to abide by those established standards and you were injured, that’s a problem. You will need to document or demonstrate how the medical provider did not safeguard your well-being.

You will also need to show that the failure to safeguard your well-being was what caused your injury. It’s not enough to show that you were injured. You must show specifically that the actions or inactions of the provider were the actual cause of your injury.

You will also have to show that you suffered some sort of loss due to the injury. The loss may be in reimbursable expenses, but it can also be intangible, like the loss of your ability to care for yourself or to enjoy the same sort of life you had before you were injured.

Because hospital malpractice cases are so complex and can often be difficult to litigate, your losses must typically be significant to make a case worthwhile.

The Role of Expert Witnesses in Medical Malpractice Cases

When it comes to malpractice, expert witnesses are often vital to proving your claim. Expert witnesses provide valuable testimony to explain to juries what went wrong and how you were injured as a result.

New York law requires your medical malpractice lawyer to consult with a medical expert, and this expert must conclude that you have grounds for a claim. Without an expert witness, you will not be able to make a medical malpractice claim against a hospital.

Finz & Finz, P.C. prepares your case for trial by retaining the most highly qualified expert witnesses, including top medical experts and field-leading doctors, nurses, and medical specialists. They can provide testimony and prepare reports that show the jury:

• How you were injured
• How your injury has impacted your life
• How the hospital was negligent
• What a reasonable health care provider would have done under similar circumstances
• How your health care provider deviated from good and accepted medical practice

With the help of industry-leading experts, we can provide convincing testimony to establish your claim and your right to compensation.

Can You Sue a Hospital for Emotional Distress?

Maybe. New York courts have found that a hospital or health care provider can be sued for causing emotional distress. Emotional distress includes the emotional and mental aftereffects that follow a troubling situation, such as anxiety, depression, mental anguish, uncertainty, or grief.

These effects may continue long after you heal from the physical harm the hospital caused through its negligence.

If you would like to learn whether you might be able to sue a hospital for emotional distress, contact us today for a free claim review.

Examples of Hospital Malpractice

Hospital malpractice can take many forms. Injuries are often caused by medical errors or omissions, such as:

• Performing unnecessary surgery or other treatments
• Failing to properly diagnose the patient
• Failing to timely recognize patient symptoms
• Making surgical mistakes
• Misdiagnosing the patient
• Not ordering laboratory tests that could have properly diagnosed the patient
• Not taking the time to learn about the patient’s history
• Not consolidating the patient’s medication
• Prematurely discharging the patient
• Providing poor follow-up care

These mistakes are often caused by factors such as:

• Keeping staff on duty who do not follow the orders of attending physicians
• Lack of proper hospital protocol
• Negligent retention of a troubled doctor, nurse, or other hospital staff member
• Not hiring qualified medical staff
• Understaffing

Hospitals can also be held vicariously liable for the negligence of their employees. Although doctors are often not directly employed by hospitals, many other medical professionals are. For example, you may have a claim against the hospital if your injury was caused by an employee such as a nurse, aide, pharmacist, lab technician, or others.

Even if the doctor who rendered sub-standard treatment is not technically a hospital employee, there could be a separate cause of action against the doctor and the doctor’s office or medical group, in addition to a potential action against the hospital.

How Our Attorneys Can Help With Your Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Finz & Finz, P.C. is a family-run law firm of three generations. For decades, we have fought for the rights of injured patients and their families who have been adversely affected by hospital negligence. Stuart L. Finz, our senior trial attorney and CEO, has been selected as a lifetime member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and is listed in the New York Law Journal report of Largest Verdicts – a testament to the impressive results he has achieved inside and outside the courtroom.

Honorable Leonard L. Finz, the founder of our law firm, is a former New York State Supreme Court Justice and has been peer-reviewed as one of the country’s preeminent trial lawyers. Our tenacity and dedication to aggressive but ethical legal practice has helped develop our law firm into a nationally recognized medical malpractice powerhouse with a commitment to individualized client care and attention.

When you retain the services of Finz & Finz, P.C., we will prepare your case for trial, if necessary, and use the latest advances in digital technology and courtroom presentation tools to maximize the outcome for our deserving clients. You will also gain the ability to work with world-renowned expert witnesses who can add tremendous value to your case.

Fighting for full compensation is our never-ending commitment to you. Talk to a NY medical malpractice attorney now by calling us or contacting us online.