Hospital Malpractice and Doctor Malpractice

Every year around 225,000 people in the United States die because of medical malpractice; making it the third leading cause of death after heart attacks and cancer.  In addition, over 1.5 million people are injured by medication errors in hospitals and doctor’s offices.  On average, every hospitalized patient has at least one medication error each day in the United States.  While most of these 1.5 million errors have little noticeable or long term effect on a patient, it still emphasizes the problem with doctor malpractice and hospital malpractice and that sometimes a visit to a doctor or hospital can be more dangerous to the patient than the medical condition they came in to have treated.

Most serious injuries or deaths in medical malpractice or medical negligence cases happen in hospitals, and when they occur because of provable negligence, most cases often involve multiple nurses and doctors who share the blame.  It’s important for people to understand that most nurses are employees of the hospital (many exceptions do apply); however, nearly all doctors are not employees of the hospital, but rather are independent contractors.  This helps limit the liability of the hospital for any negligence the doctors may commit. Patients are asked to sign a condition of admission form when they visit a hospital which states that the physicians are independent contractors and not hospital employees; therefore requiring doctors be named as defendants in a medical malpractice lawsuit alongside the hospital.

A particular challenge for a patient whom has been injured because of doctor malpractice or hospital malpractice involves proving the connection between the negligence and the outcome of a serious injury or death.  In some cases such as a birth injury or cosmetic surgery, this connection may be easier to prove because these types of people did not come in to the hospital with pre-existing medical conditions.  However with many medical malpractice cases, the patient arrives at the doctor’s office or hospital with a pre-existing condition or multiple pre-existing conditions and therefore will be more difficult to prove the connection.  Doctors and hospitals understand this and therefore will attempt to blame the injury on the pre-existing condition rather than medical malpractice.  This can be particularly challenging with a wrongful death case involving a senior; especially since an autopsy may not be provided, therefore relying on the medical records of the treating physician instead.  During a surgery, there are no witnesses to any negligence other than the medical team; therefore a careful investigation must be carried out by the medical malpractice attorney.

One way to counter these challenges is to retain the services of a knowledgeable medical malpractice lawyer, one that is also a licensed medical doctor, such as Dr. Bruce Fagel.  Dr. Fagel has practiced medical malpractice law exclusively for 30 years.  Prior to becoming a medical malpractice attorney, Dr. Fagel practiced emergency room medicine for over 10 years.  This powerful combination gives Dr. Fagel and his clients the edge when dealing with challenging medical malpractice cases involving doctor malpractice and hospital malpractice.

If you have been injured because of doctor malpractice or hospital malpractice you should contact the best medical malpractice lawyer possible, someone like Dr. Bruce Fagel.  Call the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates at (800) 541-9376 for a free consultation.

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