Can You Sue A Hospital For Wrong Diagnosis

Hospitals, regardless of their size, tend to have a massive volume of patients. Hence, all the staff, from doctors to support employees, handle a wide variety of issues like emergencies and chronic conditions. 

Consequently, we expect these medical institutions to run like well-oiled machines in order to maintain the highest level of care. 

Sadly, members of the hospital staff are human too, which means mistakes are likely to occur. However, hospitals still need to strive for perfection due to the nature of the work, as tiny errors can lead to serious injuries or even death. When this happens, individual practitioners and the medical institution itself may be liable. 

But can you sue a hospital for wrong diagnosis, and is this even a valid malpractice claim?

Are hospitals liable for a misdiagnosis?

It’s important to stress that misdiagnoses are considered malpractice claims. In fact, they’re the most common forms of malpractice that occur in hospitals. This means that you may be entitled to compensation if you or your loved one suffered harm due to a wrong diagnosis.

The question that remains is: 

Can you sue a hospital for wrong diagnosis?

Liability for issues surrounding malpractice can lay with a single practitioner, or a group of providers if their medical care falls short of the standard required in the profession. Misdiagnoses or other diagnostic errors do often result from negligence, which puts patients at a significant risk of developing serious injuries, further progression of their condition, or other adverse health effects.

For instance, anyone from a doctor to a physical therapist and a nurse, can be held liable for a wrong diagnosis or malpractice.

In select cases, the hospital may be liable for misdiagnosis, if its employees erred, or were too slow to respond. This only applies for staff members, though. 

Doctors, however, are usually not on the hospital’s payroll. In fact, many doctors offer services in multiple hospitals and are thus considered independent contractors.

If an independent doctor misdiagnosed you, the hospital isn’t very likely to share the responsibility for the medical error.

So, if you’re wondering can you sue a hospital for wrong diagnosis, you’ll have to do plenty of research. That is why it might be in your best interest to get in touch with a malpractice attorney who will review your case to ascertain whether you have a valid claim. They will also identify the employment relationship between the liable physician and the medical institution where you were misdiagnosed. 

The role of a hospital in a misdiagnosis

Rightfully so, since the care providers are ultimately the ones making the initial mistake, the brunt of the lawsuit will focus on them. Yet, in some scenarios, it’s impossible to overlook the role of the hospital in the negligent actions of a physician. 

For instance, some of the following negligent practices can increase the likelihood of a wrong diagnosis:

• Hiring unqualified staff 

Medical institutions are ultimately in charge of their hiring decisions and are thus partially at fault when their employees make mistakes. Doctors and other medical practitioners must meet strict criteria regarding training and education in order to provide the service of the highest standard. If hospitals fail to overlook their employee’s inadequacies, the chance of a misdiagnosis occurring is drastically increased.

This also extends to emergency room errors, which are even more common if the hospitals are understaffed or employ unqualified physicians. In these circumstances, it may be impossible to appropriately respond to the time restraints common in the emergency room and an influx of patients, which could lead to wrong diagnoses. 

• Failure to train staff 

Hospitals typically perform a high number of complex procedures and often rely on advanced medical systems to provide care to patients. If the staff isn’t trained in these procedures or systems, errors are more likely to happen. 

• Laboratory errors

The doctor may have ordered the right tests, but unqualified lab technicians could fail in performing them properly. In addition, the hospital may also be held accountable if samples are contaminated due to subpar hygiene and safety protocols.

• Equipment failure

Hospitals must maintain all the diagnostic equipment in top condition, are required to replace faulty machines, and keep their equipment updated, both hardware-wise and software-wise.

• Miscommunication between departments

Establishing a diagnosis often requires collaboration between different physicians and hospital staff. Yet, a wrong diagnosis may occur when different departments have poor communication processes in place and thus fail to properly share information with each other. 

As you can see, misdiagnoses and other medical errors may not be isolated incidents, and are more often than not a sign of a systemic problem within the hospital. Any of these issues can lead to multiple medical errors occurring in the same institution.

So look at it this way, you may file a malpractice claim to primarily receive compensation for your injuries or injuries of a loved one. This also makes it possible to reveal the issues within a medical institution and hold them legally accountable - which may help other patients avoid the same fate in the future. 

Make a difference

A patient may die or suffer serious harm, yet the hospital will never admit fault because they will fight to the bitter end to contest their liability. Consequently, patients and families might not be able to recover the damages that they suffered.

As such, the success of your malpractice suit will hinge on the experience of the law firm that you hire. Since Sowell Chakour is one of the best (if not the best) medical malpractice firms in Florida, your choice is clear. 

What makes us special is that we focus strictly on medical malpractice, and because some of our attorneys are also former medical practitioners, you can bet that we’ll strengthen your case with specific insider knowledge.

Call (833) 633-6257 or fill out our contact form to schedule a free case evaluation and make the first step in pursuing justice.

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.