Many people are of the impression that when they or one of their family members is the victim of medical malpractice, they can only sue the doctor or nurse responsible for the mishap. However, doctors and nurses as individuals are not the only parties against whom a lawsuit can be filed in a case of medical malpractice. In many instances, the hospital or health care facility in which the medical treatment was received can also have suit filed against it. There are several reasons why a patient might want to file a lawsuit for medical malpractice such as either general negligence by the hospital or negligence by an employee or staff member of the facility in question.
Generally speaking, medical malpractice cases in Memphis and in other areas of the country are challenging just in their very nature but they become even more complicated when a hospital is being sued rather than just an individual health care practitioner. The primary reason that it can be exceptionally difficult to carry out a lawsuit against a hospital is because hospitals are heavily insured and as such their insurance carriers typically fight tooth and nail because there is almost always a substantial sum of money at stake.
That shouldn’t discourage victims from filing suit, however, as these cases are far from impossible to win as long as the plaintiff has competent and experienced legal representation. The first thing to know is the definition of “negligence”. Negligence as it pertains to a hospital medical malpractice suit is defined as someone doing something, failing to do something, or doing something incorrectly that results in personal injury or suffering for the patient. When negligence occurs, it can often be a matter of life and death and as such it is obviously a very serious matter. The acquisition of strong legal counsel is absolutely critical when making the decision to move forward in filing a medical malpractice lawsuit whether it be against an individual nurse or doctor or against a hospital or other health care facility.
