Employees of hospitals can cause severe, even fatal, harm to patients if they do not exercise due care while performing their duties. Doctors and surgeons are not the only ones who can cause injury to patients as nurses, assistants, and even janitorial or clerical staff all are capable of harming patients through carelessness or inattentiveness. The injuries patients might sustain range from bruises and broken bones in a slip and fall accident to medical complications due to a prescription drug error.
Individuals who suffered an injury while at a hospital may wish to speak with a St. Augustine hospital negligence lawyer about their situation. A seasoned medical malpractice attorney could assist these injury victims in seeking financial compensation through an injury lawsuit.
Examples of Hospital Negligence in St. Augustine
Injuries in a hospital setting occur whenever an employee of the hospital fails to exercise reasonable care when going about their duties. Examples of such conduct that may give rise to an injury lawsuit include:
- Janitorial staff not cleaning up spills promptly or failing to set up warning signs around hazards
- Construction near patients’ rooms with inadequate safety measures
- Improperly quarantining contagious patients from other hospitalized patients
- Providing a patient with incorrect medicine or the wrong dosage
Managers, supervisors, and administration personnel may also commit negligent acts that lead to patient injuries including:
- Failure to train a new hire on their job duties before allowing them to work
- Failure to conduct an adequate background check before hiring employees
- Failure to maintain the hospital in a state of good repair
However, negligent acts are not limited to these examples. Any action that another reasonably careful individual would have done differently may be considered negligent. Determining if a person’s behavior is negligent will also likely require an evaluation of the surrounding circumstances. A St. Augustine injury lawyer could help plaintiffs determine whether negligence played a role in their injury accident.
Compensation Injured Hospital Patients May Receive
Those who are able to demonstrate that their injuries stemmed from a hospital worker’s carelessness may be eligible to receive compensation for their related losses and expenses. This includes additional medical treatment or procedures, prescription medications and devices, and lost wages resulting from the injury.
Plaintiffs may also be eligible for compensation for any non-economic harm they suffered as well. These damages might include the pain and additional suffering they experienced, further mental trauma that accompanied their injuries, a lost or reduced chance of recovering from the initial condition that brought the plaintiff into the hospital, and any loss of the plaintiff’s ability to enjoy life. Because plaintiffs may be able to secure compensation for a wide variety of losses, it may be useful to enlist the help of a knowledgeable and qualified St. Augustine injury attorney.
Contact a St. Augustine Hospital Negligence Attorney
Plaintiffs who were injured or harmed while visiting or admitted in a hospital, you have legal rights. You may be eligible to recover compensation for your expenses and injuries. Your St. Augustine hospital negligence lawyer could help you take legal action against negligent workers, administrators, and others who may have contributed to your injury accident. Call today to schedule a consultation for your case and get started.
