We typically think of medical malpractice as something that occurs during a medical procedure or hospital stay, but a significant number of cases occur after a patient is discharged from the hospital. An important aspect of a medical provider’s duty of care is that doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators communicate and coordinate effectively during a patient’s discharge. It only takes one medical provider’s error to result in a patient’s serious harm or death after their discharge from a hospital.
If you or a close family member experienced an injury or worsened medical outcome due to a hospital discharge error in Chicago, it is medical malpractice. Call or contact a Chicago personal injury lawyer at Smith LaCien LLP to learn about your legal rights and options.
Smith LaCien LLP is a law firm dedicated to legal advocacy for injury victims, including against powerful medical facilities and their insurance companies. With our representation in your medical malpractice case, you have the following advantages:
Smith LaCien puts a powerful voice behind your Chicago medical malpractice claim through our history of exceptional results in recovering over $3.5 billion for clients, including a recent $20 million recovery in a brain injury medical malpractice case.
An often-overlooked but key part of patient care and safety is a timely hospital discharge when a patient’s medical condition is stable, and they have the information and resources they need to continue their recovery at home. Unfortunately, the following dangerous errors sometimes occur during a patient’s discharge from a Chicago hospital:
When a doctor, nurse, or hospital administrator makes a mistake during the discharge process, the consequences to the patient can be serious or even life-threatening.
Taking inappropriate or insufficient measures when discharging a patient is medical malpractice, with dangerous or potentially deadly consequences. Examples of adverse effects of negligent patient discharge in Chicago and elsewhere include the following:
Even when a patient receives the best care in a hospital, a premature hospital discharge or discharging a patient without taking proper measures can cause serious harm with extensive economic and non-economic damages.
Fortunately, not all hospital discharge errors cause serious harm. A clinical research study on hospital discharge errors shows that over 25% of discharge errors do not adversely affect the patient; however, 2.28% cause serious harm, and 1.04% cause the patient’s death.
Proving medical malpractice occurred during discharge from a hospital requires evidence demonstrating that the following elements of medical malpractice occurred:
Damages in Chicago hospital discharge error claims range from the cost of readmission to the hospital to extensive damages from a worsened medical outcome, shortened life expectancy, catastrophic injury, or death.
It takes an experienced investigation to determine the liable party after a discharge error in a Chicago hospital. Depending on the unique circumstances of your case, one or more of the following parties could bear liability for your damages:
If the medical professional or facility failed to act the way another reasonable medical provider would have under the same circumstances, then it’s medical malpractice. Consulting with medical experts is a key aspect of proving medical malpractice in hospital discharge error cases.
Not every negligent hospital discharge practice qualifies for a medical malpractice claim. An essential aspect of a malpractice case is proving that the malpractice caused economic damages as well as pain and suffering. When a Chicago medical malpractice attorney makes a compelling case, an injury victim recovers damages such as the following:
If a hospital discharge error caused a loved one’s death, a close surviving family member could recover compensation through a medical malpractice-wrongful death claim.
You don’t have to add the challenges of a complex legal claim to your recovery period after a hospitalization and discharge error. Instead, call Smith LaCien LLP to speak to an experienced hospital discharge attorney in Chicago who can take prompt action and execute a strong strategy to recover the maximum compensation available to you.
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