What Happens When You Get Hurt Inside a Hospital?

Hospital-acquired infections represent one of the greatest sources of danger in today’s health care system, but many other hazards place patients at risk. Surprisingly, personal injury issues associated with small business premises often occur within hospitals and clinics.

Hospital-based negligence can involve everything from uneven walkways to puddles. When such injuries occur, the personal injury process sometimes looks different than a typical medical malpractice lawsuit, as we explain below:

Premises Liability Versus Medical Malpractice

Don’t assume that you’re automatically eligible for medical malpractice damages simply because you were injured while visiting a hospital. You may be surprised to discover that personal injury takes many forms within a health care setting.

How your personal injury case is classified will depend on the unique circumstances of your accident. If, for example, you slipped on a puddle in the hospital cafeteria while you were visiting a patient, premises liability will come into play. If, however, you were the patient and your fall was prompted by misdiagnosis, a standard medical malpractice case is more likely.

When Are Expert Witnesses Required?

In general, hospital-based premises liability cases rest on the assumption that an employee or some other responsible party exhibited negligent or reckless behavior. A medical malpractice case, on the other hand, asserts that a health care professional failed to uphold a proper standard of care.

Both types of cases call for extensive evidence, but medical malpractice often requires testimony from expert witnesses. These individuals can provide insight into whether the required standard of care was upheld — and if not, whether that failure was directly tied to the patient’s suffering.

Whether you’ve experienced a hospital-based slip and fall accident or some form of medical malpractice, you deserve support from an attorney who cares. Contact Regan Zambri Long PLLC to learn more about your legal options.

About the Author

Patrick M. Regan, Esq.

Patrick Regan is a board certified personal injury lawyer and a founding partner at Regan Zambri Long. His practice is devoted to helping those who suffered catastrophic injuries in car accidents, truck accidents, Metro accidents, and medical malpractice. Over his nearly 40-year career, Patrick has obtained some of the most significant jury verdicts in the history of Washington, DC on behalf of injured victims. Patrick is licensed to practice law in Washington, DC, Virginia, and Maryland. He received his B.A. at Hamilton College and his J.D. at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America.