Hospitals are usually responsible for mistakes made by their employees. If you are hurt while receiving treatment at a hospital, you may be able to sue the hospital for negligence or medical malpractice.
Hospitals are often responsible for poor care provided by employees such as nurses, medical technicians, and other staff members. However, they are not always responsible for a doctor’s malpractice, especially if the doctor is not a hospital employee.
When a doctor or hospital delays diagnosing a medical condition, it can be very harmful. Many illnesses can be treated more successfully if they are caught early. If you were hurt because of a misdiagnosis or another medical mistake, a Virginia Beach medical malpractice attorney from Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp can explain your legal options. Call today to schedule a free consultation.
In the meantime, keep reading to find out when a hospital can be held responsible for medical malpractice and when it cannot.
Are Hospitals Liable for the Actions of Their Employees?
If a hospital employee makes a careless mistake that hurts a patient, the hospital is usually responsible. That means the hospital can be held legally liable for the harm caused by its employee. However, not every mistake or bad outcome in a hospital is considered negligence. To be considered negligent, the employee must have failed to exercise reasonable care.
Nurses and medical technicians are usually hospital employees. Paramedics may be employed by hospitals or by independent EMS providers. If they make a mistake while doing their job and a patient is hurt, the hospital can usually be sued. For example, if a hospital-employed paramedic gives a patient the wrong medication en route to the hospital, the hospital can be held responsible for that mistake.
If a doctor makes a mistake and hurts a patient at a hospital, the hospital is not automatically responsible. The hospital is only liable if the doctor is actually its employee.
In some situations, a supervising doctor may also be liable. However, the hospital could still be responsible if the employee was acting within the scope of employment. Whether or not the employee was truly under the doctor’s supervision at the time depends on whether:
- The doctor was there at the time
- The doctor had the power to control the employee’s actions and prevent the mistake
For instance, a surgeon could be held responsible if a nurse miscounts surgical sponges and, as a result, a sponge is left inside the patient.
How Can I Tell if a Doctor Is a Hospital Employee?
Whether a doctor is a hospital employee depends on their relationship with the hospital. Some doctors work directly for the hospital, but many do not.
Many doctors are independent contractors. This means they are not hospital employees. If an independently contracted doctor commits malpractice, the hospital is usually not responsible, even if the mistake happened at the hospital.
A doctor is more likely to be an employee of the hospital instead of an independent contractor if:
- The hospital decides how much the doctor can charge patients
- The hospital controls the doctor’s work schedule and vacation time
Are Hospitals Ever Liable for the Actions of a Non-Employee Doctor?
Even if a doctor is an independent contractor, meaning the hospital is usually not responsible for their mistakes, there are some situations where the hospital could still be held liable.
The Hospital Implied They Were the Doctor's Employer
If a hospital does not clearly tell a patient that a doctor is not its employee, the patient may be able to sue the hospital for the doctor’s mistake. To avoid this, hospitals often include language in their admission forms stating that the doctor is not a hospital employee.
The rules can be different in the emergency room. In many cases, patients in the ER are not told whether the doctor works for the hospital or is an independent contractor.
Because of this, patients who are injured in the emergency room may sometimes be able to sue the hospital for medical malpractice. In Virginia, emergency room liability often depends on agency and apparent authority principles, including whether the hospital held the doctor out as its agent and whether the patient reasonably relied on that representation.
The Hospital Retains Incompetent Doctors
In Virginia, a hospital can sometimes be held responsible for allocating staff privileges to a physician who is unsafe or unqualified, even if that doctor is not a hospital employee.
A hospital may also be liable if it knew, or should have known, that a doctor had become dangerous or incompetent and failed to take action. For example, if a doctor developed a serious drug addiction and hospital management knew about it, or the signs were so clear that they should have known, a patient who was harmed may be able to sue the hospital.
Discuss Your Case With a Virginia Beach Medical Malpractice Attorney
The most important first step in a misdiagnosis case is to speak with an experienced lawyer. A Virginia Beach medical malpractice attorney from Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp can help you gather evidence, handle insurance issues for you, and represent you in court if needed.
A medical misdiagnosis case can be serious and hard to handle. It is important to work with a medical malpractice lawyer who has experience handling these types of cases. For example, we secured a jury verdict of $2.23 million for the family of a woman who died after a delayed diagnosis of hospital sepsis.
If you believe you were harmed by a medical misdiagnosis, call us at (833) 997-1774 or contact us through our website to schedule a free consultation. We have offices in Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Hampton, and Norfolk.
