Many California residents have been to hospitals to receive medical care and may recall the vulnerability they felt when disclosing painful medical conditions and discussing their medical history. They place their trust and confidence in the medical professional in front of them, be it a doctor, surgeon, nurse or surgical assistant. As a result of this trust, they expect the person treating them will act to the best of their ability and either treat or alleviate their condition. Unfortunately this is not always the case.
Mistakes can and do happen at various stages of the treatment process. It can begin with an incorrect blood test, a failure to treat an infection, move on to wrong site surgery, leaving surgical equipment inside a patient or end up with administering an incorrect drug. Regardless of who committed the mistake or the stage at which the mistake was committed, it can lead to a worsened condition for the patient.
However, for legal purposes it is important to determine who carried out the mistake. Hospital staff, such as technicians, nurses and pharmacy workers are all considered hospital employees, which makes the hospital responsible for their negligence. Therefore, the medical malpractice suit can be against the hospital for their negligent behavior. However, the case is not so clear cut when it comes to doctors and surgeons, who may be considered independent contractors and therefore not direct employees of the hospitals. This does not mean that they cannot be held responsible for their errors.
Lawyers at our firm work diligently to find out which party is responsible for the injuries caused and hold them responsible through a malpractice suit to receive compensation that can cover medical expenses that resulted from a worsened condition. For more, visit our page.
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