Champaign Hospital Negligence Lawyers
If you or a loved one has been the victim of negligent medical treatment in a hospital, you may be able to hold the hospital legally accountable. The hospital is liable for its employees, doctors, nurses, and other providers. Overall, hospital negligence accounts for a significant percentage of the accidental deaths that occur in the United States. According to the Journal of the American Medical Society (JAMA), over 225,000 deaths are due to medical malpractice. From this, approximately 100,000 of these occur in the hospital setting.
To successfully hold a hospital accountable for negligence via a medical malpractice lawsuit, you will need the assistance of experienced medical malpractice attorneys. Spiros Law, P.C. has been assisting Illinois residents harmed by hospital negligence for the past decade, and we are ready to help you, too. To learn more about how we can help, contact us today at (217) 328-2828 to schedule a free consultation.
Why Do I Need an Attorney?
Medical malpractice cases, particularly in the hospital setting, involve a high level of complexity. Proving malpractice requires more than proving that your outcome was not ideal. You will have to establish that the hospital violated the standard of care, meaning that your healthcare provider did not provide treatment that a reasonable and competent healthcare provider in a similar situation would have, and that this violation was the hospital’s fault. From there, you will further have to prove that the negligence directly led to your injuries or illness, and that these injuries caused you significant damages.
While many people think of hospital malpractice cases as being insurmountable, the reality is that with proper legal representation, you may recover for the damages that you’ve incurred. Medical malpractice lawyers have the resources and experience to gather all the necessary evidence and craft a case that has the best chance of winning you the money you need. Lawyers have access to medical experts, know what evidence to look for, and understand the nuances of medical malpractice law. With a lawyer’s help, you are likely to win significantly more compensation than you would on your own.
Why Choose Us?
It is critically important for you to involve an experienced legal team. While your legal team may not be able to take away your suffering, they can often get you the money to help cope with the expenses that you’ve incurred and the wages you’ve lost. The Champaign medical malpractice attorneys Spiros Law, P.C. have a record of successfully litigating hospital negligence and are here to assist you. We have recovered over $100 million for our clients over the past decade, including over $3 million for an individual medical malpractice case. We have also been honored as Super Lawyers.
What Types of Hospital Errors Can Occur?
Hospital errors occur in a variety of ways, but generally are caused when a hospital staff member fails to provide the standard of care due to practices, policies, administration, or other elements controlled by the hospital. Some common kinds of hospital errors include:
Hospital Associated Infections: “Nosocomial” infections are the greatest source of preventable hospital deaths. They can be due to unsanitary hospital conditions, such as improper hand washing by the medical staff, and improper sanitation of medical equipment, such as dialysis units and respirators. The hospital is obligated to have implemented standard precautions (hand washing before and after every patient contact, use of gloves and gowns, etc.) in order to minimize the risk of infection transmission. Most often, preventative measures are simple, and when they are not in place, the hospital may be held liable for malpractice.
Surgical and Anesthesia Errors: A great number of hospital negligence cases involve the operating room. Although patient safety in the operating room has improved in the last few decades, significant risks remain. Adverse events may be subtle and delayed or dramatic and immediate. Human errors and/or communication failures cause or contribute to most adverse events. Thus, well-designed hospital systems must be in place to prevent and detect errors, as well as reduce harm when a mistake occurs. The hospital is obligated to have in place risk reduction strategies such as reviews of informed consent, timeouts, checklists, and briefings.
Disclosure of Errors in Surgical Procedures: Doctors have a duty to communicate the complications that result from surgical procedures. Silence and secrecy are increasingly considered ethically and legally unacceptable responses to medical injury, as can be seen in codes of professional ethics. The shift from the practice of “deny-and-defend” to a doctrine of “disclosure” has followed from the landmark 1999 publication from the Institute of Medicine, “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System.” Presently, lack of disclosure by the doctor or the hospital is considered to be medical malpractice.
Adverse Drug Events (ADE) in Hospitals: Young children, older adults, and individuals with multiple comorbidities are at the highest risk for ADEs. Hospitals are required to have a series of interventions in place to avoid ADEs. These include interventions to prevent errors in prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, administering and monitoring.
Errors Associated with Hospital Discharges: Over 35 million people are discharged from hospitals in the United States every year. The discharge process is complex and prone to errors. According to a New England Journal of Medicine study, the cost of discharge errors is estimated at 15 to 20 billion dollars annually. Researchers have set up “standards of care” during the discharge process that hospitals are obligated to follow.
Maternity Risks in the Hospital Setting: Pregnancy and childbirth are the source of many of the annual preventable injuries in the United States. Obstetrics injuries can involve many aspects of medical care and treatment. Injuries may occur to infant, such as not monitoring the baby’s oxygen intake before and after delivery. Injuries may also occur to the mother, such as failure to control blood loss after the delivery. The doctor, hospital, and nursing staff are required to use “reasonable care,” and failure to do so may be considered negligence.
These are just a few of the ways hospitals can be negligent in providing care. If you experienced any form of medical malpractice, from prescription errors to wrongful diagnosis to surgical errors, you may be able to hold the hospital financially responsible. Contact Spiros Law, P.C. to learn more about your legal options.
Contact Us
Hospital negligence is all too common. If you’ve been the victim of hospital error, it has likely caused you significant suffering and financial loss. Through a medical malpractice lawsuit, you can recover money for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. The Champaign medical malpractice attorneys at Spiros Law, P.C. have decades of experience investigating, prosecuting, and litigating the most complex hospital malpractice cases. If you or someone you love have been injured or fallen ill due to hospital error, please contact us today at (217) 328-2828 to schedule a free consultation.
