A medical or birth malpractice claim is not only limited to doctors, but it also applies to others in the health care services chain, including pharmaceutical companies, health care facilities, anaesthesiologists and nurses.
Hospital Negligence
A hospital is a public or private corporation that can be held directly liable for their own negligence and also be held vicariously liable for its employees’ negligence. Vicarious liability means that the hospital can be held responsible for the negligence of another party, and not its own negligence.
The hospital medical staff consists of licensed health care providers including nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants and nurses, as well as licensed physicians. While hiring the staff, it is the responsibility of the hospital to ensure that they make reasonable enquiries into the education, training and licensing backgrounds of applicants.
It is also the duty of hospitals to ensure that they have enough registered nurses on duty at all times to provide quality patient care. A nursing shortage can lead the hospital to be held liable for injuries to patients. Another potential liability can arise when the hospital employees ignore orders provided by a private attending physician. On the other hand, if the hospital employee finds that the treatment plan by a private physician is contraindicative and fails to make reasonable efforts to question the plan, the hospital can still be found liable.
Pharmaceutical Companies
In some cases, pharmaceutical manufacturers can be held liable for patient injuries due to drugs they supplied, but this is only possible if insufficient warning on the drug’s potential dangers or side effects was not communicated to the physicians.
The primary duty of a pharmaceutical manufacturer is to the physician. Meaning that the manufacturer will not be liable for patient injuries as long as the physician had prior warning about risks associated with a particular drug.
In a majority of cases, the administering or prescribing physician will be considered as the learned intermediary. This means that since he or she has superior medical knowledge and had received adequate information from the drug manufacturer, they are in the best position to determine if a drug should be prescribed for a patient. This in effect means that that the physician’s role becomes advising the patient of possible side effects and risks associated with a medication or device prescribed.
Now that you have a little bit of information about possible medical malpractice case parties, you might be wondering if you have a case. For example, if the birth of your child resulted in injury, you may have a malpractice claim. It is a good idea to have your case reviewed as soon as possible by a medical malpractice attorney.
Were you or your baby been harmed during childbirth due to medical negligence? Get in touch with Dr. Gleeson Law and learn how we can help you protect and fight for your rights. You can also connect with them on Facebook for more updates.
