Baltimore Hospital Negligence Injury Attorney
A routine surgical procedure or hospital visit is anything but routine. Even the simplest procedure involves several hospital employees, members of the medical staff, and physicians. Patients are also treated with a variety of medications and sophisticated medical equipment.
At any point in the process, from diagnostic decisions to release from the hospital, preventable and negligent mistakes can lead to serious complications or even death. If you or a loved one suffered harm due to negligent errors committed by doctors or hospital staff, you need the help of an experienced Baltimore hospital negligence injury attorney to ensure your rights are protected.
The hospital negligence lawyers at Rice, Murtha & Psoras have the resources to fight for your compensation. Call (410) 694-7291 today to schedule a free consultation.
Common Effects of Hospital Negligence and Medical Errors
Recent studies show that approximately 44,000 to 98,000 patients die each year due to preventable hospital errors. Negligent mistakes by hospital employees and medical staff lead to severe medical consequences, increased medical expenses, and loss of income from prolonged illness.
Contact a Baltimore hospital error and mistake attorney if you or a loved one suffered harm from a hospital employee’s negligent conduct.
Preventable Hospital Mistakes in Baltimore
Any hospital visit, surgical procedure, or medical test includes layers of interaction between the patient and many members of the hospital staff and the medical team. Many mistakes or errors can occur during this process.
Certain medications can dangerously interact with other drugs.
If a doctor prescribes a hazardous combination of medications or is unaware of what medications a patient is currently taking, medication errors can result. Medication errors can also stem from a failure to perform a comprehensive patient intake that asks about drug allergies and other issues.
Diagnostic errors can also lead to severe medical complications. Failing to diagnose a medical condition or potential medical complication can often result in serious harm.
These types of mistakes are more prevalent in an emergency room environment where the chaotic atmosphere leads to errors in judgment or hasty diagnoses.
Procedural or administrative mistakes can also occur. Severe hospital injuries may result from inaccurate or incomplete files or poor communication among staff members.
Hospital personnel needs to maintain a level of professionalism and precision to ensure a patient receives the proper care. Failure to adhere to strict protocols can increase the risks a patient faces during their stay at a hospital.
Other mistakes occur among staff that does not interact directly with the patient. Lab testing workers and pharmacy staff at a hospital can commit errors that affect the patient’s diagnosis or treatment.
Failing to maintain or calibrate medical equipment can also result in serious harm, including incorrect radiation doses or malfunctioning alarms for dangerous drops in a patient’s vital signs.
Suing for Hospital Negligence and Medical Errors in Baltimore
Not all errors that happen in a hospital setting qualify as medical malpractice. You must contact a Baltimore hospital negligence attorney if you believe you or a loved one has suffered any adverse medical consequences or harm due to a mistake by a doctor, medical staff, or hospital employee so we can analyze your case and determine whether you were the victim of malpractice.
Maryland also has a statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims, so timing is important. You have five years from the date of the negligent conduct or three years from the discovery of the injury (whichever is shorter) to file a medical malpractice claim.
The experienced Baltimore attorneys at Rice, Murtha & Psoras will assist you in determining whether you have suffered an injury due to the negligence of a doctor, nurse, or other hospital employees.
In Maryland, to be successful in a medical malpractice claim, four elements must be shown. These elements are a duty of care, a breach of that duty, a direct cause of the injury, and actual damages.
Hospital employees must provide care to their patients that meet the standards that a similarly qualified professional would meet under comparable circumstances.
This duty exists for all healthcare providers, but the standard of care is different depending on the responsibilities or occupation of the individual provider. This means that the duty of care for a surgeon is often different from that of a nurse.
A successful claim also requires that negligent conduct is the direct cause of the patient’s injury. the healthcare provider’s negligent conduct must directly cause serious medical consequences for the court to hold them responsible.
Finally, the medical consequences or injuries the patient faced the need to result in actual damages. These can be economic damages, such as additional medical costs, physical therapy, and loss of income as well as non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering.
Contact Our Baltimore Hospital Negligence Injury Attorney Today for a Free Consultation
If you or a loved one has been injured or has suffered permanent medical consequences because of a healthcare provider’s negligence, contact an experienced Baltimore hospital negligence attorney today.
Negligence on the part of hospital employees or medical personnel can have far-reaching emotional, physical, and economic costs.
The attorneys at Rice, Murtha & Psoras will help you evaluate your medical malpractice claim and fight for your compensation. Call (410) 694-7291 today to schedule a free consultation.
