Chicago Hospital Negligence Attorneys
It is the responsibility of hospital staff in Chicago, including doctors, nurses, technicians, and other healthcare professionals, to deliver sufficient care. If they fail to do so, the hospital could be liable for any injuries or deaths that occur as a result. Negligent hospital care can exacerbate existing injuries and cause new ones, creating long-term medical issues that are expensive, painful to manage, and entirely avoidable.
If you or a loved one has been a victim of negligent hospital care, the experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. want to help. Depending on your situation, you could be entitled to significant compensation. Our team can pursue financial compensation for your losses, including medical bills, lost income, pain, suffering, and more.
Medical staff and healthcare facilities owe a duty to their patients. Our law firm fights to hold them accountable when they violate that duty and cause harm. We have secured more than $2.5 billion for our deserving clients, including more than 350 verdicts and settlements exceeding $1 million. Let us put our experience, resources, and knowledge to work for you.
Contact us online now to set up a free consultation to speak with a hospital negligence attorney in Chicago.
What Is Considered Hospital Negligence?
Hospital negligence occurs when a doctor or other medical professional fails to deliver an acceptable level of care and causes harm to a patient. When people go to hospitals, they expect quality care. They count on experiencing sanitary conditions, competent staff, and functioning equipment. A lack of these responsibilities can erect a barrier to proper treatment and cause injuries instead of healing.
Hospital negligence is a form of medical malpractice, and medical malpractice victims may have the right to recover financial compensation for injuries resulting from negligent care in a hospital or similar medical facility.
Illinois law heavily regulates how hospitals work and sets strict standards regarding the care they provide. Specifically, hospitals must follow strict rules concerning hospital administration and governance, employee hiring, patient care practices, diagnostics, and hospital construction and design. If a hospital or its employees violate these standards and cause harm as a result, it could be grounds for a hospital negligence lawsuit.
In many cases, hospitals and other healthcare facilities are responsible for the negligent actions of their employees. Vicarious liability means that when a person falls victim of employee medical negligence, they can usually sue the facility for compensation. However, the issue might be more complicated in cases involving medical professionals who are independent contractors. Our knowledgeable medical malpractice attorneys can tackle these liability concerns and identify all the potentially liable parties who could be responsible for compensating you.
Common Types of Hospital Negligence
The most common type of hospital negligence is provider negligence, where a healthcare professional delivers substandard or harmful patient care. Some examples of medical provider negligence include:
- Surgical errors
- Medication errors
- Emergency room negligence
- Missed or incorrect diagnoses
- Anesthesiology errors
- Incorrect procedures
- Birth injuries
- Failure to monitor patients
- Nursing negligence
- Unsanitary equipment that causes hospital infections
- Not providing appropriate follow-up care
Hospital negligence may also involve administrative negligence on the part of hospital management. Examples of administrative negligence that could result in subpar medical care include:
- Lack of training or supervision
- Understaffing
- Communication issues
- Unsafe hiring practices
- Negligent hospital record-keeping
For instance, a hospital hiring staff without the appropriate training or certifications could be liable for negligent hiring practices and the resulting patient injuries.
Why You Need a Hospital Negligence Attorney
To make a successful medical malpractice claim, the victim must show that a patient-healthcare provider relationship existed, and that the medical professional or facility violated the duty to provide appropriate care. Hospital negligence cases are inherently difficult to prove, as doing so requires in-depth technical knowledge concerning currently accepted standards of medical care.
Our hospital negligence attorneys understand these standards and know how to demonstrate that patients received inadequate care. A key part of malpractice claims is the use of expert testimony from medical professionals to analyze and explain accepted care standards. Our accomplished medical malpractice lawyers can call on expert testimony in conjunction with patient care records to show that the patient was a victim of negligent hospital practices.
Under 75 ILCS 5/13-212, you have two years to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against a provider for hospital negligence. Once two years pass, you will lose the chance to seek financial compensation through the legal system. The two-year time limit starts counting from the date you discovered, reasonably should have discovered, or received notification of the injury. However, Illinois puts an absolute four-year time limit on recovering compensation from negligent hospital care, regardless of whether the patient knew about the injury.
Other circumstances can also affect Illinois medical malpractice claim deadlines, such as cases involving injuries to minors. These time limits are stringent, so it is in your best interest to consult with our attorneys as soon as possible and preserve your chance for compensation.
What to Do If You Suspect Hospital Negligence
If you suspect you have suffered an injury due to hospital negligence, prioritize seeking the medical treatment you need for your injuries. However, you don’t have to wait until treatment is finished to contact our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. to see if you have a case.
It is important to document as much as you can throughout the process. Keep copies of all medical records pertaining to your care and take pictures of your visible injuries or any dangerous hospital conditions. It is critical that you do not reach out to your healthcare provider directly, as it could allow them to hide or destroy evidence of malpractice. Let our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers handle all communications for you.
Choosing a Local Hospital Negligence Lawyer for Your Case
Since 1982, Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. has represented victims of hospital negligence in Chicago and throughout Illinois. We have recovered over $2.5 billion for our injury clients, including $75.8 million and $50.3 million medical malpractice verdicts. Our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers have a deep understanding of Illinois’s healthcare system and regulations and have the resources necessary to hold healthcare entities accountable when they negligently cause harm, rather than healing.
Whether you suffered a birthing injury, contracted an infection while in the ICU, or were injured by some other type of hospital negligence, we can pursue the liable parties to seek compensation for all your losses. Hospital negligence is a serious matter, and you deserve a chance to recover your losses through a medical malpractice case. We can stand in your corner, push back against attempts to deny liability, and work to secure the maximum possible compensation for your medical malpractice-related losses.
Contact Salvi, Schostok, & Pritchard P.C. online or reach out by phone for a free case consultation with a hospital negligence attorney in Chicago.
