Hospital Malpractice

The following information about medical malpractice at hospitals is provided by Pritzker | Ruohonen & Associates, P.A., a nationally-recognized personal injury law firm. Our lawyers frequently speak at legal seminars and have been interviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Lawyers USA and other publications. Fred Pritzker and Rich Ruononen have been named "Super Lawyers" by Law & Politics magazine. To contact one of our lawyers about hospital malpractice, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900, email Fred Pritzker, or submit our free case consultation form.

What is Hospital Malpractice?

Hospital malpractice includes any type of medical negligence that occurs in a hospital setting, including errors by doctors, nurses, technicians and other hospital staff. Some common situations that may involve hospital malpractice include:

Medication error
Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection
Improper use of anesthesia
Failure to treat an illness
Incorrect treatment of a diagnosed illness
Improper administration of drugs
Failure to order proper tests
Failure to consult with a specialist
Failure to monitor a patient
Failure to stabilize a patient
Improper use of a medical device
Birth injury or birth trauma due to physician, nursing or hospital negligence
Surgical procedures that are not necessary, or that are done without patient consent

Hospital Malpractice Lawsuit Information

If someone you love has been harmed by hospital malpractice, here is some important information that you should consider:

Proving Negligence in a Hospital Malpractice Suit
--In order to prevail in a hospital malpractice suit you have to prove that the hospital staff acted unreasonably and that the hospital staff conduct was a direct cause of injury. Unless both issues are proved, there is no case.
--A hospital staff is not negligent simply because his/her efforts were unsuccessful.
--The failure of a treatment is not negligence if it was an accepted treatment based on the information the doctor had or should have had when the choice of treatment was made.
Special Laws for a Hospital Malpractice Suit
You should also be aware of some special laws that apply to doctor malpractice cases:
--Statute of limitations: This is a law that requires commencement of a hospital malpractice case within a specific time period. If the hospital malpractice case is not filed within that time period it will be barred regardless of its merit. Because the time period is often very short and exceptions apply, it is very important to consult with an experienced hospital malpractice attorney as soon as possible.
--Expert affidavit: In some states, before commencement of a doctor malpractice case the party bringing the claim must provide a written document signed by a hospital expert confirming that hospital malpractice was committed and that it was a direct cause of the claimant's injuries. The format and timing of the affidavit are critical.

Hospital Malpractice: Law Firm Information

Because of the time, cost and complexity of hospital malpractice cases, good law firms carefully review potential hospital malpractice claims. Here's how our process works. In response to a hospital malpractice inquiry, one of our staff will conduct a free telephone consultation. If we believe the case has merit, we will obtain hospital malpractice records and have them reviewed by a lawyer at the firm. If the we feel there is a valid claim and we believe the case is worth pursuing, we will conduct a thorough analysis and investigation and proceed with the hospital malpractice case.

If you would like a free consultation about your hospital malpractice case, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit your case for review with the firm's online consultation form. Pritzker | Ruohonen is a national law firm with clients throughout the United States.

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