Putting ourselves in the hands of medical providers in a hospital requires a leap of faith and trust that the doctor and staff will uphold their duty to treat you at the accepted level of care recommended by the medical community.
Unfortunately, doctors sometimes fail to order the correct diagnostic tests, make errors, and delay or miss an accurate diagnosis, resulting in serious harm to a patient.
When a doctor or other provider is a hospital’s direct employee and commits medical malpractice that causes injury or worsens a patient’s condition, the injured patient may file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital. Contact our medical malpractice lawyer in Chicago for assistance.
Chicago hospitals are busy places, but every patient deserves the best possible care, with their health, safety, and well-being as the highest priority. Unfortunately, a 2022 medical malpractice survey revealed that 31.2% of physicians reported being the subject of at least one lawsuit to date. The most common types of medical malpractice include the following:
When malpractice occurs in a hospital, the results can be devastating, including a serious injury, worsened medical conditions, shortened life expectancy, or wrongful death. An injury victim can seek compensation and a sense of justice through a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital or medical facility.
A medical malpractice lawsuit requires careful navigation by a skilled attorney. An injury victim must obtain copies of all medical records from before and after the malpractice occurred, gather their medical bills and receipts, and obtain an employer’s statement detailing any lost work days and income loss. Then, your medical malpractice attorney will do the following:
A medical malpractice case cannot erase the harm caused, but it eases the financial hardship caused by a worsened medical outcome.
Sometimes hospitals protect themselves against direct liability by using doctors who are independent contractors rather than employees. If a negligent doctor wasn’t an employee when they committed medical malpractice, an injury victim can pursue a medical malpractice claim against the individual doctor rather than the hospital. Depending on the circumstances, some courts uphold malpractice claims against hospitals despite a physician’s status as an independent contractor under the precedent set by Gilbert v. Sycamore Municipal Hospital in Illinois.
Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit against a hospital is a challenging legal prospect, requiring experienced legal representation to prove the facility breached its duty of care to the patient, and that the patient suffered economic and non-economic damages. Common damages recovered in Chicago medical malpractice claims include:
If medical malpractice causes a fatality, the decedent’s family can file a medical malpractice wrongful death claim.
It takes substantial evidence, including testimony by medical experts, to make a compelling medical malpractice case in a lawsuit against a hospital. Instead of taking on a crucial legal matter alone, call the Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Smith LaCien LLP for a free consultation from a skilled representation and a reputation for success to put a powerful voice behind your claim.
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