Surgical Mistakes and Hospital Liability in Cherry Hill, NJ
Surgery requires immense skill, precision, and care, and when you go in for surgery, you put your health and well-being in the hands of those who operate on you. While most surgeries are successful, surgical mistakes do happen. And when they result from professional negligence, the medical professionals involved, the hospital itself, or both can be held legally accountable. Discuss your claim with our experienced Cherry Hill surgical error attorneys at Ginsberg & O’Connor today.
When Medical Malpractice Applies
Anyone in any profession can make a mistake, including surgeons and hospitals. When, however, the error crosses the line into professional negligence, the at-fault party can be held legally liable.
Medical malpractice in New Jersey applies when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted professional standard of care and harms a patient in the process. If a specialist, doctor, nurse, or hospital takes an action their professional peers wouldn’t under similar circumstances, medical malpractice may apply. The same is true if the provider or hospital fails to take an action that their professional peers would have taken. Professional peers here refer to other medical providers or medical facilities with similar levels of experience.
Is the Medical Provider or the Hospital Responsible?
Whether the surgeon, the hospital, or both are at fault depends on the unique circumstances.
The Surgeon’s Liability
The main hospital campus in Cherry Hill is Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital, and most attending surgeons there are independent contractors with surgical privileges. If the surgeon made the error, you would file your claim with their medical malpractice insurance provider.
The Hospital’s Liability
However, if a hospital employee engaged in medical malpractice within the scope of their employment, the hospital can be held accountable. In fact, the hospital’s legal liability extends to all the following:
- Hiring well-qualified staff members and ensuring that they have the requisite training
- Checking the credentials of their surgeons and of other providers
- Appropriately staffing their operating rooms and post-surgical units
- Purchasing and maintaining the appropriate surgical equipment
- Implementing the necessary safety protocols that are designed to prevent so-called errors, such as performing surgery on the wrong patient or on the wrong body part, or performing the wrong surgery
Surgical error claims are notoriously complex, and you can expect the hospital to put considerable effort into minimizing your settlement. Work closely with a savvy surgical error lawyer from the outset.
It’s Time to Consult with Our Experienced Cherry Hill Surgical Error Lawyers
Our seasoned Cherry Hill surgical error attorneys at Ginsberg & O’Connor have an impressive track record for guiding very challenging claims toward optimal outcomes, and we are here for you, too. For more information about everything we can do to help you, please do not delay reaching out by contacting us online or giving our firm a call at 856-727-1991 today.