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More than one party may be liable in your medical negligence case

On Behalf of | Dec 23, 2017 | blog

One can only imagine the dismay associated with entrusting oneself to the professional medical care of others and winding up in a worse, instead of better, condition afterward. If you recently underwent surgery or received some other type of medical treatment and suffered illness or injury because someone didn’t do his or her job right, you likely understand how frustrating such issues can be. It is true there’s always risk for human error when one person (or group) is providing medical care to another.

However, as a medical patient, you have the right to reasonably assume that those tending to your needs will act in accordance with the highest level of accepted safety standards. Substandard care can have devastating, even fatal, repercussions. Where medical negligence is concerned, there may be more than one person liable for your injuries, although identifying possible sources can be quite challenging.

Medical negligence claims are not limited to doctors alone

Yes, it may have been a doctor who made the error that resulted in your illness or injury. That doesn’t necessarily mean there are not others who are equally or partially responsible as well. The following information includes other parties who may be named as defendants in medical malpractice claims:

  • Legally speaking, a medical employer may be vicariously liable if an employee’s negligence results in injury to a patient. This means that it may be appropriate to list a hospital as a defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit in addition to a particular doctor.

  • An entire medical team likely attended to you, especially if you had surgery. It may not have been a single error but an entire chain of events (each involving negligence) that led to your injury. Anyone who you believe was negligent may also be possibly liable if you pursue recovery for your losses in court.

  • If your injuries arose after taking prescription medication, and it is later determined that the drug in question was defective or not properly labeled or that the manufacturer did not inform your physician of possible side effects or danger associated with the drug, the manufacturing company may be liable for your injuries.

The bottom line is that when you seek medical care, you can expect that those providing it will do everything possible to help you resolve your adverse health condition without placing you at unnecessary risk for injury. When you suffer injuries that were likely easily preventable, you have the right to seek justice against any liable parties.