Suing a Doctor or Hospital for Wrongful Death
Trusting your loved one to a medical professional takes great confidence in that professional. Not every patient makes it out of surgery. Not every patient reacts correctly to certain medications. If your loved one dies after a certain medical procedure or other interaction with a doctor in a hospital, you might have a case for wrongful death, but how do you go about it?
Determining Fault
Working with an attorney, you will need to determine who was at fault for your loved one’s death. Some doctors have a contract with a hospital, so you wouldn’t be able to sue the actual hospital if that particular doctor caused the death. Other doctors work for the hospital, so you might be able to sue the hospital. Your lawyer can investigate the death to determine exactly what took place and who played a role in it.
After fault is determined, it will be easier to move ahead with a lawsuit. Some examples of negligence in a wrongful death lawsuit against a doctor or hospital include:
- Errors made during a surgery
- A slip and fall accident during a stay at the hospital
- Being administered or prescribed the wrong medication
- A misdiagnosis
- Being treated by an impaired doctor
- Unsanitary conditions in the hospital
Gathering Evidence
To make a case for wrongful death against a hospital or doctor, you will need to collect evidence that shows a few things. These things include:
- There was a doctor/patient relationship or that the patient was being treated at the hospital
- Negligence occurred by someone employed by the hospital
- Your loved one died due to injuries sustained during the negligent act
Some evidence you could use includes medical bills, photographs, surveillance videos, witness testimonies, autopsy results and other similar types of evidence. Your lawyer will typically investigate the case in-depth in order to collect all of these items.
Filing the Lawsuit
After you have all the information you need, you can work with your attorney on filing your lawsuit. You could be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, funeral and burial expenses, and a wide range of other damages. By naming both the doctor and the hospital in your lawsuit, you might have a larger settlement to cover the expenses you are left with after your loved one’s death.
Your loved one shouldn’t have died at the hands of a medical professional he or she trusted. If this did happen, however, you might be entitled to compensation. Learn more and get started with your case today by contacting a lawyer, such as a wrongful death lawyer from Unidos Legales.