Can you sue the hospital for causing a condition not related to the admission?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can you sue the hospital for causing a condition not related to the admission?
I went to the ER for and pain, nurse started IV (meds never given), was d/c’d 2 days later symptoms occurred again, was admitted for kidney infection. The arm where the ER nurse “poked” 2 days prior caused my arm to swell severely causing cellulitis and DVT. Kidney infection cured in 1 day- never went home, stayed inpatient for 7 days because of the infection. Now I have tons of bills from extended stay!
Asked on December 12, 2011 under Malpractice Law, Nevada
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
The hospital, as the nurse's employer, is liable for the negligence of the nurse which occurred during the course and scope of her employment. You could sue the hospital for negligence. Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care in this case that a reasonable hospital would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm). In order to prove negligence, you will need to prove duty (of due care mentioned above), breach of duty (failure to exercise due care by the injection in your arm causing cellulitis and DVT), actual cause, proximate cause and damages.
Actual cause means but for the nurse giving you the IV would you have gotten cellulitis and/or DVT? If the answer is no, which appears to be the case, actual cause has been established. Proximate cause means were there any unforeseeable, intervening events which would relieve the hospital of liability? If the answer is no, proximate cause has been established. Damages means the amount of compensation you are seeking to recover in your lawsuit. Your damages would include your medical bills, pain and suffering and documentation of any wage loss. Prior to filing a lawsuit against the hospital for negligence, it may be possible to settle the case with the hospital's insurance carrier. Your personal injury claim filed with the hospital's insurance carrier would include the medical bills, medical reports and documentation of any wage loss. Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement. The medical reports will document the nature and extent of your injury and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering. Compensation for pain and suffering is an amount in addition to the medical bills. If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the hospital's insurance carrier, reject the settlement offers and file your lawsuit for negligence against the hospital. If the case is settled with the insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed. If the case is NOT settled with the insurance carrier, you will need to file your lawsuit for negligence against the hospital prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.