Can You Sue a Hospital for Wrong Death?

Is the hospital responsible when a loved one dies while being treated in the hospital or shortly thereafter? Depending on the circumstances of why your loved one received treatment and how hospital staff fulfilled their duties, the hospital may be responsible for that death.

But even if the hospital is responsible, is there anything you can do about that fact? Can you sue a hospital for wrongful death in Alabama? The answer to that question can be complicated. Before trying to take any type of legal action, you should consult with an experienced wrongful death lawyer from Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana, PC, to learn all about your legal options.

Negligence Leads to Wrongful Death

When someone has symptoms of an illness or injury, they have several options when it comes to getting it treated. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, they might visit their primary care doctor or make an appointment with a specialist. If someone goes to a hospital to get treatment, presumably they have some type of ailment that puts their life in danger and therefore requires hospital care instead of a visit to a different healthcare provider.

The urgency of a hospital visit can make it more difficult to determine whether hospital staff were responsible for the death of a patient. If, for example, your loved one suffered a fatal stroke, hospital staff may have done everything in their power to save your loved one’s life but unfortunately failed. This doesn’t mean they were at fault. Your loved one might have died whether the hospital staff acted or not. If anything, they might have extended the time your loved one had, if only by minutes.

Conversely, just because your loved one was suffering from a life-threatening ailment doesn’t absolve the hospital staff of responsibility if they were negligent. When the negligence of a person results in the death of someone who likely wouldn’t have died otherwise, that is an example of wrongful death.

It is even wrongful death if negligence results in a patient’s dying earlier than they otherwise would have died. For example, if your loved one has cancer, it might be inevitable that the cancer will kill them. But if hospital staff fail to diagnose the cancer due to negligence, your loved one might die months or even years earlier than they would have with competent care. You would typically have the right to sue for wrongful death in that situation and get compensation for the lost time due to the mistake of the hospital staff.

Are you in mourning after a loved one died while in the hospital or shortly after getting hospital treatment? It can be difficult to pursue your legal options while you are still reeling from the death of a loved one. Contact our law firm at (251) 444-7000 to schedule a free consultation today.

Doctors and Hospitals Aren’t the Same

When someone at a hospital is negligent, typically, that means the hospital becomes liable for that negligence. However, when a doctor is negligent, that may not be true. Many doctors are not hospital employees even though they use hospital facilities. The doctor who treats you when you visit the emergency room is almost certainly a hospital employee. But what about when your OB-GYN helps you give birth in a hospital room? It is very likely your OB-GYN has contracted with the hospital to use its space for the birth.

The question of whether a doctor is an employee or not is critical to determining whether a doctor’s negligence incurs liability for the hospital. Typically, your lawyer can determine the answer to that question reasonably quickly. And if a doctor was negligent, you can still sue the doctor directly for wrongful death, even if the hospital is protected from liability.

Many doctors treat patients in hospital facilities even though they aren’t employees of the hospital. When a non-employee doctor is negligent, the hospital is protected from liability.

Factors to Consider When Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against a Hospital

Imagine that your loved one was a victim of nursing home abuse and suffered from infected bed sores. You admitted your loved one to the hospital to deal with the infection, and they died while at the hospital. Who is responsible? The nursing home is at least partially responsible for allowing your loved one to be abused. However, the hospital may also be partially responsible if it was also negligent. Two parties can have partial responsibility, and you can potentially get compensation for the loss of your loved one from both parties.

But what if one of the defendants in a lawsuit claims that you should have been aware of the abuse that your loved one was suffering? Unfortunately, if that is true, that is a legitimate affirmative defense against the lawsuit. If you were even slightly at fault in the death of your loved one, contributory negligence rules prevent you from getting any compensation from the defendants.

Finally, you need to consider the statute of limitations when filing a lawsuit. According to Alabama law, you have two years from the date your loved one died to file a lawsuit. That may not seem short, but it can fly by after losing a loved one.

How Much Can You Sue a Hospital for After a Wrongful Death?

When you file a lawsuit against a hospital, you can potentially get two primary types of compensation: economic damages and non-economic damages. Alabama doesn’t limit how much you can receive for these two types of damages, so you can sue for all expenses and losses related to the death of your loved one and whatever damages for loss of consortium your attorney recommends.

Contact Our Law Firm Today

You may be able to sue a hospital after losing a loved one due to hospital staff negligence. Our legal team can help you understand your rights.

Contact our law firm as soon as possible at (251) 444-7000 to schedule a free consultation to discuss your rights.