Dealing with the aftermath of hospital negligence can be as distressing as it is disorienting. When you seek medical help, you expect to be cared for, not left in worse condition. Unfortunately, mistakes and oversight can occur in hospital settings, leading to severe consequences for patients. If you find yourself a victim of such an incident, you’re not just fighting for your health but often against financial pressures as well.

At Baker Street Funding, we understand that facing a hospital negligence case can be overwhelming, especially while you’re trying to recover. Let’s help you grasp what hospital negligence means, guide you through the legal steps to address these cases, and explain how pre-settlement funding can provide the financial support you need. This way, you can concentrate on your recovery so that your fight for justice is not compromised by economic hardship.

What is hospital negligence?

Hospital negligence is a specific subset of medical malpractice focused on errors that occur within the unique operational environment of hospital settings. Unlike general medical malpractice, which can happen in any healthcare setting—from private clinics to outpatient surgery centers—hospital negligence arises from failures directly tied to the complexities and high demands inherent to hospitals.

Who’s Liable?

If you’ve suffered due to hospital negligence, liability can rest with various parties: the hospital itself for systemic issues or inadequate policies; specific medical professionals (doctors, nurses) for their actions, or even third-party contractors working within the hospital.

Identifying the liable party often depends on whether the negligence resulted from an individual’s mistake or a broader institutional failure. Getting to the bottom of this requires careful examination of the circumstances surrounding your case.

Proving Causation in a Hospital Negligence Lawsuit

One of the most critical aspects of a hospital negligence lawsuit is proving causation. This involves demonstrating a direct link between the hospital’s (or medical staff’s) negligence and the harm you suffered as a patient. This is how it’s usually done:

Establishing the Standard of Care: First, you need to define the standard of care that was expected in the situation. This involves showing what a competent healthcare provider would have done under similar circumstances. Expert testimony, often from medical professionals in the same field as the defendant, is usually required to outline these standards.
Identifying the Breach. Next, you must show how the hospital or staff failed to meet this standard of care. This could involve action (such as performing an incorrect surgical procedure) or inaction (such as failing to diagnose a condition).
Connecting the Breach to Harm Caused. This is the causation aspect. You must prove that the breach of the standard of care directly resulted in your injury or worsening condition. It’s not enough to show that the provider was negligent; you must demonstrate that this specific negligence caused the harm.
Documenting the Harm. Finally, it’s very important to document the injury or harm you suffered due to negligence. This could include medical records, expert testimony on your condition and prognosis, and evidence of pain and suffering or financial losses related to the negligence.

Challenges in Proving Causation

Complicated Medical Histories. If you have a complex medical history, proving causation can be tough. The defense might claim that your injury was due to pre-existing conditions, not their negligence.
Multiple Factors. When several factors might have caused your injury, pinpointing the hospital’s specific negligence as the cause won’t be easy.
Expert Testimony. Proving your case heavily depends on expert witnesses. These professionals must clearly define in an expert report the expected standard of care and prove that the breach of this standard directly caused your injury.

Hospital Negligence: Understanding the Spectrum of Medical Missteps

Hospital negligence encompasses a variety of errors and omissions that occur in hospital settings, leading to patient harm. This specific type of medical malpractice is characterized not just by its setting but also by the multifaceted and integrated nature of hospital operations. From surgical mishaps and medication mix-ups to systemic failures like poor infection control or miscommunication among departments, the scope of hospital negligence is broad.

Here are the most common types of claims associated with hospital negligence, each presenting unique challenges to the affected patients.

Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis. When a doctor either incorrectly identifies a medical condition or takes too long to do so, it can delay critical treatment or lead to the wrong treatment approach. Imagine being treated for the wrong illness because of a diagnostic error, causing unnecessary or dangerous treatment.
Surgical Errors in the Operating Room: Surgical procedures require the highest levels of precision and care. Negligence during surgery might include operating on the wrong body part, anesthesia errors, or leaving instruments inside a patient. These mistakes are confined to the hospital setting and can have severe, lasting impacts on patient health.
Medication Errors. Providing the wrong medication, the incorrect dosage, or medication that a patient is allergic to constitutes negligence. An overdose due to an excessively prescribed medication is a classic example of such an error.
Anesthesia Errors. Incorrect anesthesia application can be extremely dangerous. This includes giving too much or too little anesthesia, not keeping an eye on the patient’s vital signs while they are under, or not properly briefing patients on the necessary steps before receiving anesthesia. Overdosing on anesthesia can lead to severe injuries or death.
Birth Injuries. Negligence during labor or delivery can harm both the baby and the mother. This can be due to not acting on signs of distress, mishandling delivery tools, or not performing a needed cesarean section in time, potentially causing lasting damage.
Lack of Informed Consent. Patients must be fully informed about the risks and alternatives before undergoing any medical procedure or treatment. Failing to do so, and if complications arise that were not disclosed, can lead to a claim of negligence.

Additional Types of Hospital Negligence Claims

Hospital-Acquired Infections. Hospitals are expected to uphold stringent infection control standards. When protocols are not properly followed, it can lead to hospital-acquired infections, which are entirely preventable with the right care and procedures in place.
Negligence in Emergency Rooms. The emergency department’s chaotic nature makes it particularly prone to negligence. Examples include the misdiagnosis of conditions, errors in patient triage that delay crucial treatments, or insufficient monitoring that leads to preventable complications.
Failure to Monitor Patients. Negligence occurs when hospital staff don’t properly monitor a patient’s condition, resulting in preventable complications or even death.
Failure to Act on Test Results: Neglecting to promptly address critical test results can cause further harm through misdiagnosis, or inadequate treatment.
Premature Discharge: Releasing a patient from the hospital too early—before he or she is stable—can result in severe health setbacks or need for readmission.
Poor Communication: Errors often arise from inadequate communication among medical staff about a patient’s condition or treatment plan.
Inadequate Follow-Up or Aftercare: Failing to provide appropriate post-procedure care instructions or to schedule necessary follow-up visits can jeopardize a patient’s recovery.
Miscommunications Between Hospital Departments. In a hospital, different departments must work in seamless coordination. Negligence can occur when there’s a breakdown in this communication, such as failing to promptly deliver or act upon critical lab results, which can delay necessary treatments and worsen patient outcomes.
Errors in Patient Management Systems. Critical patient information must be meticulously managed and accurately shared across various hospital departments. Errors in data entry, record handling, or updating patient health changes can lead to catastrophic outcomes, such as administering incorrect medications or treatments.

What are Damages?

Damages refer to the compensation awarded to the plaintiff (the person who has been harmed) for losses suffered due to the hospital’s negligence. These damages are intended to make the plaintiff “whole” again, to the extent possible, by providing financial compensation for both economic and non-economic losses. Here’s a closer look at the types of damages commonly awarded in these cases:

1. Economic Damages

Economic damages compensate for financial losses directly resulting from the negligence. These are tangible costs that can be quantified and typically include:

Medical Expenses. Costs for past and future medical care related to the injury, including hospital stays, surgeries, medications, rehabilitation, and any ongoing healthcare needs.
Lost Wages. Compensation for income lost due to time off work for recovery. This also covers loss of earning capacity if the plaintiff can no longer work in the same capacity as before the injury.
Other Financial Losses. Any other out-of-pocket expenses related to the injury, such as travel expenses for medical treatment, home or vehicle modifications for disability, and so on.

2. Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages compensate for the intangible losses that don’t have a specific dollar amount. These are more “personal” in nature and include:

Pain and Suffering. Compensation for physical pain, discomfort, and the general distress you suffered as a result of the negligence.
Emotional Distress. Compensation for your psychological trauma, such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Loss of Consortium. Compensation awarded to the spouse or family members of the plaintiff for loss of companionship, affection, support, and, in some cases, intimate relationships due to the injury.

3. Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are not awarded as compensation for losses but are instead intended to punish the defendant for particularly egregious conduct and to deter similar conduct in the future. These are less common in these cases and are only awarded when the defendant’s actions are found to be especially reckless or malicious.

Caps on Damages

Some states in the U.S. have caps on the amount of damages, particularly non-economic and punitive damages, that can be awarded in medical negligence claims. These caps vary by state and can significantly affect the compensation amount you may receive.

Hospital negligence pre-settlement funding

If you’re facing financial strain while pursuing a hospital negligence claim, a personal injury lawsuit loan might be a solution worth considering. This type of funding provides you with an advance on the expected settlement of your legal claim, helping you manage expenses during what can be a long and prolonged legal process.

What is a Lawsuit Loan for Hospital Negligence Claims?

A lawsuit loan for hospital negligence claims, often referred to as pre-settlement legal funding, is a cash advance provided against the potential settlement of your negligence lawsuit. This loan helps cover immediate needs such as medical bills, living expenses, and other urgent costs while your legal case is unresolved.

Here’s why a lawsuit loan is particularly advantageous:

Non-Recourse Funding. This type of loan is non-recourse, meaning you aren’t required to pay it back if you do not win your hospital negligence lawsuit. The lender takes on the risk, so that you don’t face financial ruin if your case doesn’t succeed.
No Credit or Income Checks. Your eligibility for a lawsuit loan does not depend on your credit history or employment status. Instead, approval is based solely on the strength of your hospital negligence case and the expected settlement amount. Occasionally, additional documentation, such as a medical expert report, may be required to secure funding.
Immediate Financial Relief. The loan provides quick funds that can be used for any pressing needs, or maintaining financial stability throughout the litigation process. This cash infusion eases the pressure to settle early for a lower amount due to financial constraints.

Application Process for a Lawsuit Loan

Check Eligibility. To qualify, you must have an active hospital negligence lawsuit and be represented by an attorney. Most lawsuit funding companies will not consider your application unless you have legal representation.
Submit Your Application. Apply for lawsuit funding with Baker Street Funding by calling (888) 711-3599, and provide the details about your case and your contact information.
Attorney Cooperation. After your application, a team member will contact your attorney to gather more information about your case. This helps us assess the strength of your claim and the potential compensation amount.
Approval and Offer. If we believe your case is likely to succeed, we’ll make an offer based on the expected settlement amount. The offer includes the amount you can borrow and the terms of the loan, including the interest rate.
Agreement Signing and Funding. If you accept the offer, both you and your attorney will sign the funding agreement. Once the agreement is signed, funds are typically disbursed quickly, often within 2 hours, directly into your bank account.

Why consider pre-settlement funding?

Hospital negligence can have devastating consequences, but legal recourse offers a path to compensation and justice. Understanding your rights and the legal process is the first step toward holding healthcare providers accountable.

For those facing financial hardship during this time, a lawsuit loan from Baker Street Funding may provide the necessary support to endure the settlement process ahead.