As a society, we are expected to trust hospitals with our care whether it is for surgery, birth, recovering from an illness, etc. Hospitals are regulated by law, to ensure that patient health and well-being come first. Yet, this is not always the case. Studies have shown that one-third of all the total claims for negligence account for "diagnostic errors", mainly due to problems with records, or the practitioner's negligence to look at the patient's medical background prior to treatment. Other recent studies have shown that preventable medical errors have caused up to almost 100,000 deaths every year because of those medical errors, making it considered a national epidemic.
There are a variety of reasons for which a hospital may be negligent which may include, but are not limited to: infections, inadequate staffing, improper procedures, poor staff training, heavy patient load, misreading of tests or x-rays, extended wait time for procedures, nursing negligence, informed consent, medication error, physician mistakes, and emergency room errors. Hospitals which do not follow proper sanitary procedures for surgeries or even routine care have been the cause of infections in patients. There have also been documented cases of which patients tests were read incorrectly which lead to further illness or even death. Even more disturbing, patient's conditions have worsened while waiting for certain procedures or consultations. Recently, a jury awarded $10.7 million in a hospital negligence suit in which a woman waited hours for a brain scan. This woman was brought to the emergency room after she fell and cracked her skull. She eventually fell into a coma, upon waiting for hours for a brain scan. This woman, who has no movement on her left side, uses a wheel chair and requires assistance for her daily living skills.
Hospitals have rules and procedures for staff to follow. In the event that a physician or hospital employee was careless, lacked proper skills or didn't follow rules and procedures, the hospital may be held responsible. Negligent health care providers and systems must be identified so that we as patients may be protected in what should be a safe environment.
