It’s a tragedy when a patient dies as a result of poor or negligent medical care. It’s upsetting to find out that mistakes were made.
Realistically, people know that doctors, surgeons and other medical professionals are human. They will make mistakes. When they do make errors, it is necessary for them to take responsibility.
Hospitals and their medical teams are often found liable for wrongful deaths in three situations. The first is due to the negligence of employees. The second is because of negligent hiring or supervision. The third is the result of poor quality facilities or defective equipment.
Here’s an example. If your loved one goes into the hospital to have surgery and the surgeon leaves a tool inside them, they may later suffer internal injuries or an infection from the left-behind object. That is a medical error likely caused by negligence.
Another example is if the hospital doesn’t do a thorough check on a new surgeon. Later, you discover that they were discharged for making serious mistakes in a past case that led to a different patient’s death. Now, their actions led to your loved one’s death, too.
In the third case, an example would be if the hospital was not cleaned regularly, leading to an outbreak of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that ends up killing your loved one and several other patients.
As you can see, there are many situations in which medical providers and hospitals may be liable for the injuries and deaths of others. They should be held accountable when those issues occur because they were preventable. If your loved one passes away as a result of errors or negligence, you may have a case of medical malpractice on your hands.