Medical Malpractice: Who is Held Liable?

You go to your doctor to get treated for your health condition without expecting something could happen because of their negligence. You trust your medical professional enough to entrust them your life or your loved one’s life. Although a lot of physicians concentrate no offering the best care possible to their patients, sometimes things can go wrong leaving the patient in a worse condition. Any patient who has been a victim of medical malpractice can pursue legal action for the damages they suffered, with the help of a competent medical malpractice lawyer.

Your lawyer understands the tough situation you are going through and will help you. They take time to study your case and identify the specific cause of your injury. This can help them in evaluating who must be held liable and file a lawsuit against the right party. In claims that involve medical malpractice, there are a lot of parties involved who may be held accountable depending on your injury. These parties include:

The Physician

Medical malpractice cases are common in doctors due to their interactions with patients. They perform the treatment or surgery where medical occurs can usually take place. For example, a surgeon may operate on the wrong body or person or leave a surgical tool in the patient’s body. Although these errors should not happen, when they do, they can cause the patient to significantly suffer.

Doctors can be held accountable for medical practice when they improper diagnose a patient which could delay their receipt of the right treatment. This delay could make the patient’s condition worse or cause them their life. This often takes place as symptoms of serious conditions and illnesses may mimic the illnesses that are not very serious. Doctors must make a correct diagnosis to provide the patient with the correct treatment.

The Anesthesiologist

In some cases, patients may need anesthesia before undergoing a surgery. An anesthesiologist administers the anesthesia to put the patient in an induced state to make sure they don’t feel the surgery while taking place. Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist can commit errors during the process by failing to check for the patient’s history of allergic reactions or giving too much anesthesia which caused an overdose.

The Hospital

Sometimes, a medical malpractice can occur with communications within the hospital. For instance, when a patient’s chart has incorrect information, it can result in surgery done on a person who shouldn’t have it. Also, the failure of the hospital to monitor their staff or hire trained medical professionals properly can result in a medical negligence or error.