Hospital Liability for Staff/Employee Errors

Hospital administration's negligence might prompt a lawsuit, and the facility might be liable for treatment mistakes made by employees.

Updated by , J.D.
Get the compensation you deserve. We've helped 175 clients find Attorneys today.

There was a problem with the submission. Please refresh the page and try again
Full Name is required
Email is required
Please add a valid Email
Phone Number is required
Please add a valid Phone Number
Zip Code is required
Please add a valid Zip Code
Description is required
By clicking "Find a Lawyer", you agree to the Martindale-Nolo Texting Terms. Martindale-Nolo and up to 5 participating attorneys may contact you on the number you provided for marketing purposes, discuss available services, etc. Messages may be sent using pre-recorded messages, auto-dialer or other automated technology. You are not required to provide consent as a condition of service. Attorneys have the option, but are not required, to send text messages to you. You will receive up to 2 messages per week from Martindale-Nolo. Frequency from attorney may vary. Message and data rates may apply. Your number will be held in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

You should not send any sensitive or confidential information through this site. Any information sent through this site does not create an attorney-client relationship and may not be treated as privileged or confidential. The lawyer or law firm you are contacting is not required to, and may choose not to, accept you as a client. The Internet is not necessarily secure and emails sent through this site could be intercepted or read by third parties.

The types of negligence that can lead to patient harm in the hospital setting cover most of the medical malpractice spectrum, from physician malpractice to nursing malpractice to malpractice by a physical or occupational therapist. Hospital administration itself can also be liable when a patient's condition is made worse by failure to maintain a reasonably safe environment.

Hospital liability can usually be divided into two main types:

  • Liability for the negligence of hospital employees, in line with the personal injury law concept of vicarious liability, which says that employers (including hospitals) can be held liable for employees' negligence. So, a hospital can be responsible for medical malpractice committed by a physician, nurse, or other health care professional employed by the hospital.
  • Hospital liability for harm resulting from the facility administration's own mistakes, such as negligence in hiring and supervising employees, and failing to maintain and repair equipment.

Let's take a closer look at these kinds of liability.

Hospital Liability for Negligence of Employees

While many health care providers who work in hospitals are independent contractors (i.e., not direct employees of the hospital), some are full- or part-time hospital employees. Because the hospital is liable for the negligence of its employees, a patient harmed by the medical malpractice of an employee doctor or other health care professional would be entitled to sue both the hospital and the individual employee.

Physicians

Most cases of physician negligence fall into one of the following categories:

Physicians are more often not hospital employees but independent contractors who work at (but not for) the hospital, so some investigation may be necessary (more on this below).

Nurses

There are many tasks that nurses perform related to a patient's treatment, and if the nurse's conduct falls below the applicable medical standard of care, a malpractice claim might be possible.

A nurse can:

  • fail to monitor a patient properly
  • fail to take a patient's vital signs at the proper times
  • forget to take an important vital sign
  • fail to enter the patient's nursing record into the patient's chart
  • administer the wrong type of medication
  • administer the wrong amount of medication
  • administer the medication at the wrong time
  • fail to check a patient for bed sores
  • fail to respond to a patient's call quickly enough
  • fail to report suspicious symptoms and complaints to the physician in charge.

Any one of these mistakes can constitute negligence. If the nurse is an employee of the hospital, the nurse's negligence is extended to the hospital.

Therapists

Therapists—whether they be physical, occupational, or mental health therapists— can also be negligent. For example, a physical therapist might fail to follow a physician's instructions properly, or might manipulate a patient's injured limb too aggressively, re-breaking a bone or re-tearing a ligament or tendon that the patient was supposed to be rehabilitating.

Hospital Liability for Negligence of Independent Contractors

What if the negligent doctor, nurse, or therapist was an independent contractor and not an employee of the hospital? Is the hospital still vicariously liable for that health care provider's negligence?

This is a complicated issue that depends on your state's law, but in general the courts will look at factors like:

  • the precise terms of the employment arrangement between the hospital and the health care provider
  • exactly how much control the hospital had over the health care provider's job conditions and performance, and
  • how the provider was paid.

As a general rule, the more control that an employer has over the performance of a supposedly independent contractor, the more likely it is that a court might find that the independent contractor was actually an employee.

The Hospital's Own Negligence

Direct hospital negligence can include the hospital's negligence in hiring and supervising its employees, in maintaining and repairing equipment, and in any other area overseen by hospital management.

Hospital negligence includes the following types of issues:

  • negligent hiring of employees (such as failing to verify that its health care providers are properly licensed)
  • failure to ensure that its employee health care providers stay up to date on their licensing requirements, such as continuing medical education
  • failure to terminate incompetent, unlicensed, or unsafe employees
  • failure to establish proper patient safety protocols for issues like hand washing, sanitation, preventing patient falls, patient safety, and keeping up with new medical developments
  • understaffing of medical and/or nursing staff
  • mislabeling medication, and
  • violating patient confidentiality by losing or mishandling patient records.

Learn more about suing a hospital for medical malpractice.

Establishing liability in any medical malpractice case is a challenge, and the procedural rules in these kinds of lawsuits can be fairly complex, so if you think you've been harmed by the medical negligence of a hospital or a member of its staff, it may be a good idea to discuss your situation with a medical malpractice attorney.

Make the Most of Your Claim
Get the compensation you deserve.
We've helped 175 clients find attorneys today.
There was a problem with the submission. Please refresh the page and try again
Full Name is required
Email is required
Please add a valid Email
Phone Number is required
Please add a valid Phone Number
Zip Code is required
Please add a valid Zip Code
Description is required
By clicking "Find a Lawyer", you agree to the Martindale-Nolo Texting Terms. Martindale-Nolo and up to 5 participating attorneys may contact you on the number you provided for marketing purposes, discuss available services, etc. Messages may be sent using pre-recorded messages, auto-dialer or other automated technology. You are not required to provide consent as a condition of service. Attorneys have the option, but are not required, to send text messages to you. You will receive up to 2 messages per week from Martindale-Nolo. Frequency from attorney may vary. Message and data rates may apply. Your number will be held in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

You should not send any sensitive or confidential information through this site. Any information sent through this site does not create an attorney-client relationship and may not be treated as privileged or confidential. The lawyer or law firm you are contacting is not required to, and may choose not to, accept you as a client. The Internet is not necessarily secure and emails sent through this site could be intercepted or read by third parties.

How It Works

  1. Briefly tell us about your case
  2. Provide your contact information
  3. Choose attorneys to contact you