Patients can suffer permanent injury or die from errors and mistakes caused by their hospital’s negligence.
Malpractice is generally understood to be a legal claim that can be asserted against doctors and physicians who fail in their duty of care to their patients. Malpractice can also be the foundation for seeking justice for those who have been severely harmed or who have died as the result of nursing home abuse or neglect. For more on these issues, see our earlier discussions including:
- Medical Malpractice in Indiana 2016: When Doctors Make Mistakes and People Are Hurt or Killed;
- Public Citizen Report on Doctor Discipline by State Medical Boards: It’s Not Good and Risk of Medical Malpractice Remains High;
- 2019 Senate Report List Reveals Worst Nursing Homes in Indiana and Illinois; and
- Nursing Home Injury Claims for Victims in Indiana and Illinois.
Hospitals Have Their Own Duty of Care to Patients
Today, medical errors remain at epidemic levels in this country. People are dying every day from mistakes made in their health care, and this includes not only errors made by their surgeons or treating physicians, but by the hospital itself.
Hospital facilities have their own legally recognized duty of care to those who are receiving care at their premises, whether or not they have been officially admitted as an in-patient.
Hospitals can, and do, cause the permanent injuries and deaths of those who have trusted these institutions to keep them safe and care for them as they recover from illness or accident injuries.
Recognized Risks of Harm in an Indiana or Illinois Hospital
The health care industry understands there are a variety of risks involved in hospital care, which insurers investigate and consider as part of their “risk management” as they provide coverage and set premiums for the hospital itself, which is often a for-profit concern looking to maximize revenue for its shareholders.
For instance, in June 2015, one insurance group identified eleven “critical risks” facing the healthcare industry, which included several dangers that are of even greater concern today, four years later. Read, “11 Critical Risks Facing the Healthcare Industry,” written by ACE Group and published by RiskandInsurance.com on June 1, 2015. Among them are the following:
1. Deadly Infections
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “… [o]n any given day, about one in 31 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection.”
However, it is unclear how widespread the risk of infection while in hospital care may be in this country, since the CDC does not report all it knows to the general public. For details, read “Culture of Secrecy Shields Hospitals With Outbreaks of Drug-Resistant Infections,” written by Andrew Jacobs and Matt Richtel and published by the New York Times on April 8, 2019.
This threat involves outbreaks of infections at a facility that may prove extremely dangerous or deadly to patients already dealing with serious health issues. Outbreaks mean several patients are endangered; however, for years now there has been the recognized risk of infection at hospitals for certain types of patients.
For the individual patient, in addition to a potential outbreak there is also the risk brought by known antibiotic-resistant bacteria existing in hospitals which can cause sepsis and death.
According to the CDC, the most six common antibiotic-resistant bacteria commonly found (1 in 7) when the patient undergoes surgery or requires a catheter and needs 25 days or more of hospital care:
- Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)
- Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
- ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae (extended-spectrum β-lactamases)
- Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE)
- Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter.
“For clinicians, prevention means isolating patients when necessary. It also means being aware of antibiotic resistance patterns in your facilities, following recommendations for preventing infections that can occur after surgery or from central lines and catheters placed in the body, and prescribing antibiotics correctly.”
2. Incompetency or Medical Negligence
Another serious risk facing anyone seeking care in a local hospital is the possibility that they will fall victim to the incompetency or medical negligence of a hospital employee.
If its employee fails in his or her duty of care to the victim, then the hospital may also have legal liability for the consequences as the employer.
This can include employees on the hospital’s payroll that are support staff as well as nurses and various technicians. If they make a mistake that harms the victim (patient) during the course of their on-the-job work duties, then the hospital may face liability as well for their negligent acts.
There are times when the mistakes and errors of a physician or doctor will also result in claims against the hospital for negligence. Whether or not the hospital has a legal liability for the doctor’s incompetent and neglectful actions will depend upon its legal relationship with that physician.
In the event of a serious or fatal medical error, the hospital may argue that the doctor was an “independent contractor” and outside their control as an employee in an attempt to avoid liability for hospital negligence claims. However, it may be up to a court or jury to decide the true nature of the doctor-hospital relationship in a particular situation.
Seeking Justice After Hospital Error Causes Harm to Patient
In our next post, we will consider the particular hospitals in Illinois and Indiana that are the least safe for patients according to the latest 2019 hospital safety report. Sadly, there has been little change in the risk factors facing hospital patients and those forced into hospitalization in our part of the country.
Accident victims and others in need of advanced medical care may have no choice but to be admitted as a patient in a local hospital here in Indiana or Illinois. It is wise for these patients and their loved ones to know that not all hospital facilities offer the same level of care, and that some are recognized for their failing levels of care and patient safety.
It is also vital that everyone understand that the state laws in Indiana and Illinois provide redress to those who are victims of harm caused by hospital negligence.
Hospitals can, and are, sued for mistakes and errors in medical care that have resulted in permanent harm or even death to the patient. Please be careful out there!
