Medical malpractice claims require skilled Tacoma Hospital Negligence Law to secure maximum compensation for victims. A knowledgeable lawyer will work with expert witnesses to establish breach of the accepted standard of care, causation, and damages.

Plaintiff Lana Ohler sued the hospital alleging that excess oxygen administered to her as a premature infant caused her blindness. The Supreme Court ruled that the hospital was liable on ostensible agency grounds.

Duty of Care

For hospitals to be held liable for medical malpractice committed by their staff, it must be proven that they breached a duty of care to the injured patient. This duty is based on the legal principle of respondeat superior, which holds that a defendant must take steps to avoid negligent acts committed by its employees.

In this case, plaintiff’s claim rested on the theory that Tacoma General Hospital owed him a duty of care to provide him with emergency room treatment. To impose this duty the hospital must hold itself out as a provider of such services and must reasonably believe that it will be believed.

Tacoma General argued that it did not hold itself out as providing emergency room treatment because it only contracted with TECP to do so. However, the court disagreed. It pointed to a number of licensing regulations that require hospitals to establish emergency department standards, staff qualifications and certifications, equipment and supplies, and policies and procedures for patient and nursing care.

Breach of Duty

For a person to be liable for negligence, there must have been a duty to adhere to accepted standards and a breach of that duty that directly caused an injury. To establish the existence of a duty, it must be determined whether it was foreseeable that someone could be harmed by the defendant’s actions. For example, it is foreseeable that driving drunk will cause car accidents and injure people. If a plaintiff suffers an injury as a result of a hospital’s failure to adhere to acceptable standards, they have a medical malpractice claim.

Our Tacoma medical malpractice lawyers know that hospitals have many types of workers, including registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), nurse practitioners and physician assistants. It is important that your lawyer understands how each type of employee interacts with patients, so they can identify the most likely mistakes and establish legal causation. They can also secure maximum compensation to cover both quantified losses and harder-to-quantify damages for emotional trauma.

Causation

Every day, people put their lives and trust in medical care providers. These individuals often work hard to provide the best possible treatment. However, they are human and sometimes make mistakes. When these errors result in injury or death, the law holds them accountable.

Proving a physician committed malpractice and securing the appropriate damages requires an experienced Tacoma medical negligence lawyer as your advocate. A successful claim depends on proving the defendant’s negligence directly caused the plaintiff’s harm. In addition, the plaintiff must have suffered actual damages, including economic and noneconomic losses.

A skilled Tacoma hospital negligence lawyer thoroughly investigates the circumstances of a patient’s case, working with experts to establish the standard of care and prove that it was breached. He or she also negotiates with insurance companies and, if necessary, takes the case to trial. A successful medical malpractice claim can significantly improve your life.

Damages

When a medical professional deviates from the reasonable standard of care, injury or death can result. This is referred to as medical negligence. Medical negligence claims are complex and require the help of a knowledgeable Tacoma medical malpractice lawyer.

Victims who have sustained severe injuries may need lifelong rehabilitation or 24/7 lifetime care assistance. Managing these costs requires financial recovery. Our team pursues maximum compensation, including both quantifiable costs and harder-to-quantify losses caused by negligent conduct.

In this case, the plaintiff’s sister was appointed her guardian ad litem and filed a medical malpractice action against Tacoma General Hospital, Dr. Martha Cowgill, who administered the anesthetic, and her supervisor, Dr. Phillip Backup. The hospital argued that its status as an employer deprived it of vicarious liability, but the court disagreed. It found that under common law, the anesthesiologists were agents of the hospital and that a release of one agent releases the principal. In addition, the court ruled that the anesthesiologists were liable under their individual contracts for damages resulting from their negligent acts.