When the System Fails:
Hospital Liability in Medical Malpractice
While individual doctors and nurses are often the focus of medical malpractice claims, hospitals and other medical facilities can also be held liable for negligence that results in serious patient harm. In Pennsylvania, a hospital’s responsibility extends beyond the individual actions of its medical staff; it also encompasses the facility’s overall operations, policies, and environment.
Establishing medical malpractice against a hospital or medical facility in Pennsylvania typically involves proving the same four elements (Duty, Dereliction, Direct Cause, Damages) as with individual practitioners, but the “dereliction” can stem from systemic failures or the actions of employees for whom the hospital is responsible.
Here are common circumstances and types of negligence that can support a medical malpractice claim against a hospital or medical facility in Pennsylvania:
Vicarious Liability (Respondeat Superior)
Often, a hospital can be held responsible for the negligence of its employees or agents under the legal doctrine of “vicarious liability” or “respondeat superior” (Latin for “let the master answer”). A hospital’s liability under this doctrine is based on its legal responsibility for the individual acts or omissions of the medical providers who care for patients within the hospital. This legal doctrine applies when:
- Employee Status: The negligent medical professional (e.g., a staff doctor, nurse, technician, or other hospital employee) was acting as an employee or agent of the hospital.
- Course and Scope of Employment: The malpractice occurred while the agent or employee was performing duties within the course and scope of their employment.
Sometimes doctors claim they are not employed by the hospital and instead work as or for independent contractors. Even if a doctor is an independent contractor, hospitals can be held liable under the theory of “apparent agency” if the patient reasonably depended on the hospital to provide the care at issue, or the hospital’s actions led the patient to reasonably believe the doctor was a hospital employee.
Direct Corporate Negligence
Beyond vicarious liability, Pennsylvania law recognizes that hospitals have independent duties to their patients. If a hospital breaches these duties and directly causes harm, it can be held liable under the theory of “corporate negligence.” These duties include:
- Maintaining Safe Facilities and Equipment: Hospitals must ensure their premises are safe and all medical equipment is properly maintained, calibrated, and in good working order.
- Hiring and Supervising Competent Staff: Hospitals have a duty to adequately screen, hire, train, and supervise all medical and non-medical personnel to ensure they are competent and provide quality care. This includes reviewing credentials, conducting background checks, and monitoring performance.
- Developing and Enforcing Adequate Policies and Procedures: Hospitals must establish and enforce policies and protocols that aim to ensure patient safety and quality of care (e.g., infection control, medication administration, patient fall prevention). Failure to do so, or failure of staff to follow established policies, can be a basis for liability.
- Reviewing and Overseeing Patient Care: Hospitals have a duty to review the treatment provided to patients, especially in areas like the emergency department or operating rooms, to identify and correct any systemic issues or patterns of negligence.
Common Examples of Hospital Malpractice:
- Inadequate Staffing: Not having enough qualified nurses or other staff to meet patient needs, leading to delayed care or errors.
- Failure to Prevent Infections: Negligence in maintaining sterile environments or following infection control protocols, leading to outbreaks of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).
- Equipment Malfunctions: Injuries caused by poorly maintained, defective, or improperly used medical equipment.
- Medication System Errors: Systemic failures in the hospital’s medication management process that lead to patients receiving the wrong drugs or dosages.
- Errors in Patient Handling: Negligence leading to patient falls, bedsores, or other injuries due to inadequate care or monitoring.
- Negligent Credentialing: Granting privileges to a doctor who is known to be incapable or has a history of malpractice, resulting in patient harm.
- Failure to Monitor Patients at Risk: Hospital staff failing to monitor a patient’s condition or vital signs adequately or failing to escalate concerns when a patient’s health is declining.
Proving Hospital Malpractice
Similar to claims against individual professionals, proving hospital malpractice requires thorough investigation, gathering extensive medical records, and often, expert testimony. An experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorney can identify all potentially liable parties – both individual providers and the hospital itself – and build a comprehensive case to secure the compensation you deserve.
If you believe you or a loved one has suffered harm due to negligence by a hospital or medical facility in Pennsylvania, consulting with a medical malpractice lawyer is the crucial step to understand your rights and legal options.
The attorneys of Lupetin & Unatin are experienced and compassionate medical malpractice attorneys based in Pittsburgh, PA and serving all of Western Pennsylvania. We invite you to contact us to schedule a free medical malpractice case evaluation.