Lasik Surgery Malpractice

Hospitals have a duty to protect the health of their patients, and therefore, they usually have numerous safety protocols that staff members must comply with while performing their job duties. When hospitals fail to enact adequate safety procedures or neglect to enforce existing protocols, it can result in injuries and illnesses, which, in many instances, are grounds for a medical malpractice claim. If you suffered preventable harm due to inadequate hospital safety protocols, the Baltimore medical malpractice attorneys of Arfaa Law Group can inform you of your rights and assist you in striving to hold the parties accountable who are responsible for your harm. We are adept at pursuing claims on behalf of injured parties in the Maryland courts.

Hospitals generally employ hundreds of doctors, nurses, and aides with varying degrees of skill and training. Thus, hospitals must develop and enforce safety protocols to make certain that all employees and independent contractors uphold the standard of care necessary to protect patient health. For instance, hospitals usually have a protocol regarding cleanliness and sanitation measures to help prevent the spread of disease. Hospitals often develop rules regarding fall prevention as well, to help patients from suffering unnecessary harm. Hospital protocols also typically dictate what information must be included in medical records, who can access such records, and how long records must be retained, to avoid errors caused by incomplete medical history, misdiagnosis, or medication errors. Hospitals must also make sure that the individuals they hire possess appropriate credentials and do not present a known risk of harm to their patients.

Hospitals are considered health care providers under Maryland law. Hospitals are like doctors, in that they have a duty to provide care that meets or exceeds the applicable standard, and can be held liable for having inadequate hospital safety protocols. Specifically, a hospital may be deemed negligent if it does not exercise the degree of care and skill that another hospital that is reasonably competent would use under similar circumstances. Typically, a competent hospital will create sufficient safety protocols. As such, if a competent hospital would research a physician’s history of malpractice lawsuits prior to hiring a physician, failing to conduct a thorough background check may constitute negligence.

It is important to note, however, that even if a hospital breached the applicable standard of care by failing to take adequate safety measures, the hospital would not be held liable unless the breach proximately caused a patient to suffer harm. In other words, a patient pursuing claims against a hospital must not only show that the hospital deviated from the standard of care, but also that the deviation was a primary factor in causing the patient’s harm, and that the patient would not have suffered harm if the hospital complied with its duties.

Generally, a patient seeking to recover compensation from a hospital for harm caused by lack of safety procedures must file a claim within three years of the date of harm, but in some cases, such as when the injured patient is a minor or the cause of the harm is not easily ascertainable, the statute of limitations may be extended. Patients that successfully prove they were harmed by a hospital’s negligence may recover the cost of any past or future medical treatment needed for their injuries or illnesses, compensation for any wages lost due to an inability to work following the harm, and compensation for the mental and emotional damages caused by their physical harm.

Maintaining patient safety and health typically requires strict standards and practices, and when hospitals fail to enact appropriate protocols, it often causes patient harm. If you sustained an injury or illness in a hospital, you should meet with a lawyer to assess what claims you may be able to pursue. At Arfaa Law Group, our medical malpractice attorneys have the resources needed to potentially prove hospitals should be held accountable for their negligence, and we will work tirelessly to help you seek a just result. We regularly represent people in malpractice claims in Baltimore, where our office is located. We can be reached at 410-889-1850 or through the form online to set up a meeting.