Medical professionals place high among the people in our communities in whom we place a great deal of trust. As leaders who help us make decisions regarding our health, wellbeing, and recovery, we have faith that they’re providing the best possible care.
Unfortunately, the mistakes of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals have much potential to do harm. These mistakes are often preventable and yet, errors in health care account for thousands of deaths and many more injuries every year.
If you or a loved one have been the victim of medical malpractice, you may be wondering who can be held responsible. The answer to this question is not always as straightforward as one might think; medical malpractice liability can be an extremely complex issue to navigate.
However, an experienced lawyer can help you determine the liable party or parties in your lawsuit.
Examples of Who Can Be Held Liable in Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
When medical malpractice liability comes to mind, people often automatically picture doctors and nurses. While these medical professionals can definitely be found liable, additional parties can be involved in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Here’s an overview of the types of parties that can be held responsible for committing negligence in medical practice:
Doctors
As mentioned, doctors are frequently thought of when it comes to medical malpractice—and for good reason. Doctors are involved in a large variety of aspects of the medical field, which opens them up to make more mistakes. Failure to diagnose, a misdiagnosis, and prescription medication errors are all just a few examples of the types of negligence doctors can commit.
Surgeons
You’ve likely seen horror stories in the news of surgeons forgetting medical devices or other items in a patient following surgery. These stories are not without merit. According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, at least a dozen sponges, clamps, retractors, and other medical devices are left inside of patients’ bodies every year.
Surgeries, no matter how invasive, require the utmost attention to detail and care. Negligence committed during surgeries can have severe consequences for patients. That’s why surgical error lawsuits must be handled carefully and by an experienced attorney.
Anesthesiologists
Anesthesiologists are responsible for administering an extremely powerful drug. Whether it’s local or general, the administration of anesthetics requires an extremely high degree of skill and precision.
When an anesthesiologist is negligent in their duties, their negligence has the potential to cause long-term, severe health consequences. Victims of medication errors in anesthesia committed by anesthesiologists can suffer from brain damage, wake up too soon during an invasive procedure, or even die.
Pharmacists
Pharmacists can commit many different types of medication errors, such as incorrectly filling a prescription with the wrong dosage or wrong medication. Medication dispensing errors can lead to serious health concerns.
Hospitals, urgent care centers, clinics, etc.
Many people are unaware that the facility itself can sometimes be held liable in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Facilities can be held liable if an injury or loss was caused by unsafe or unsanitary conditions or was the result of negligent hiring practices.
The list above is not an exhaustive one when it comes to medical malpractice liability. However, these parties are commonly found liable. An experienced Florida medical malpractice lawyer will be able to investigate the cause of your injury and determine which parties need to be held accountable.
Can more than one party be held responsible in a medical malpractice lawsuit?
In some cases of medical malpractice, there may be more than one party that played a role. For example, let’s take a hospital or other facility that used poor hiring practices that allowed an unqualified surgeon to work on their premises. In turn, if that physician committed negligence in their duty of care to a patient, both the physician and the hospital could be found liable in a lawsuit.
Proving liability for multiple parties requires an extremely skilled lawyer who has an extensive understanding of medical malpractice.
Work with an Experienced Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyer
To seek compensation for damages you’ve incurred as a result of medical malpractice, turn to the trusted lawyers of Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath. Our team has extensive experience in establishing liability in medical malpractice cases and achieving justice on behalf of our clients.
Whether it was a physician, anesthesiologist, the hospital itself, or another party, we will get to the bottom of the cause of your injury and hold the responsible party accountable for their negligence.
Get the help you deserve by calling (561) 655-1990 to schedule your no-obligation, risk-free medical malpractice case review today. We look forward to assisting you and learning more about your case.
No matter where you are, one of our offices can help.
