Pittsburgh Hospital Negligence Lawyer

Table of Contents

Hospital Malpractice Attorney in Pittsburgh, PA Assists Victims Injured by Hospital Staff Due To Medical Negligence in Allegheny County and Across Pennsylvania
Types of Hospital Negligence Errors
The Impact of Hospital Negligence on Patient Lives
Pittsburgh Hospitals and Medical Negligence
Injured by Hospital Staff? Contact a Skilled Pittsburgh Hospital Negligence Lawyer Today!
Frequently Asked Questions About Hospital Negligence

Hospital Malpractice Attorney in Pittsburgh, PA Assists Victims Injured by Hospital Staff Due To Medical Negligence in Allegheny County and Across Pennsylvania

When our Pittsburgh hospital negligence lawyer at Baldwin Matzus, LLC takes on a case, we are sometimes shocked at the discoveries we make during the course of an investigation. What seems like a straightforward set of circumstances may, in fact, involve a series of easily preventable mistakes and miscommunications that lead to a patient’s severe injury or death. Cases of hospital negligence may involve inadequate hospital policies or procedures concerning the care and treatment of patients, failure to train and educate nursing staff, failure to communicate abnormal or critical value test results to physicians or patients or failure to maintain equipment. All patients deserve good, safe medical care when they go to a hospital. Unfortunately, in an effort to maximize profits, some hospitals operate more like processing plants with little concern for the physical and emotional well-being of their patients. While not every mistake can be attributed to acts of malpractice, there are many preventable mistakes and injuries that are caused by hospital system failures that could have been prevented if the staff members at the hospital had used reasonable care.

For answers to Frequently Asked Questions about hospital negligence in Pennsylvania, read the Baldwin Matzus, LLC medical malpractice FAQ page.

Injured and Have Questions? We Can Help. Tell Us What Happened. Call (866) 858-2276 Or Fill Out Our Convenient Online Contact Form.

Types of Hospital Negligence Errors

Because hospital systems are large medical facilities, the number of mistakes that can change the course of someone’s life is numerous. Acts of negligence may include:

Wrong site surgery or procedure
Delays in treatment or emergency surgery
Infections acquired at the hospital because of negligence
Improperly administered anesthesia or failure to monitor vital signs after administering anesthesia
Central Venous Catheter or Peripheral Venous Catheter bloodstream infections or extravasation injury
Hospital medication errors (wrong dose, wrong medication, adverse interaction with other medications)
Failure of nursing staff to communicate important changes in patient’s condition to physicians
Improper medical record keeping

These mistakes are all highly preventable. It is an accepted industry standard for hospitals to have policies and procedures in place to eliminate or decrease the risk of these preventable mistakes occurring and injuring patients. For example, there are procedures to follow to prevent surgeons from leaving scalpels, gauze, or other instruments inside patients, and medications should always be double-checked before they are administered. With some simple protocols or checklists in place to account for human error, these mistakes should never occur. Sadly, that is not the world we live in.

The Impact of Hospital Negligence on Patient Lives

Patients often accept hospital treatment because they have no alternative. When hospitals make careless errors, patients may endure extended recovery times, additional treatment or surgeries, lifelong consequences, or death. Loss of quality of life, loss of income, and the expenses of medical treatments and medications are some of the consequences of hospital negligence. Patients who have suffered unnecessarily can file a hospital negligence lawsuit to hold the hospital accountable and to obtain the compensation necessary to pay for future medical care, wage loss, and other harms and losses.

At Baldwin Matzus, LLC, we help victims of hospital negligence get back on the road to recovery and return to productive lives while working to prevent hospitals and health care practitioners from making the same mistakes in the future:

There are certain things that patients can do to minimize the risk of hospital negligence.
Always confirm surgical procedures and surgical sites with the surgeon before agreeing to anesthesia.
Ask for the surgical site to be marked with a permanent marker before the procedure.
Speak with the nurses, technicians, and physicians who treat you and confirm your name with each one to prevent medication and treatment mix-ups.a
Always review your symptoms and doctor recommended treatments with your physician, nurse or technician before leaving.

Find Out What Your Case is Worth. Call (866) 858-2276 Or Fill Out Our Online Contact Form For a Free Consultation.

Pittsburgh Hospitals and Medical Negligence

If you or a loved one has ever suffered medical negligence at any of the following Pittsburgh hospitals, you should contact an experienced Pittsburgh hospital negligence lawyer at Baldwin Matzus, LLC right away:

When you’ve been injured as a result of malpractice or negligence at a Pittsburgh hospital, you deserve a lawyer and legal team that are committed to getting you the results you need in order to get your life back on track. We have years of experience bringing cases to trial and negotiating favorable settlements for our clients. The litigation process can be difficult and complex, which is why we are prepared to provide you with all the support necessary to get you through each phase of your claim.

Injured by Hospital Staff? Contact a Skilled Pittsburgh Hospital Negligence Lawyer Today!

Hospitals are liable for the mistakes their staff members make and even the best attempts at proactively protecting your health may not prevent injury. Overworked and fatigued nurses and doctors, poor communication (or no communication) between nurses and doctors, distracted doctors who fail to respond to abnormal test results or a worsening patient condition, and incompetence are just a few of the reasons we identify in cases of hospital negligence. Some of these issues need to be addressed at the systemic level by changing policies and procedures. Others are caused by personal carelessness.

If you or a loved one has suffered needlessly because of a hospital’s preventable mistake, contact Baldwin Matzus, LLC. While our office is located in Pittsburgh, we handle hospital malpractice cases across Pennsylvania. You do not have to suffer the consequences of hospital negligence alone. Contact our Pittsburgh hospital negligence lawyer today for a free case evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hospital Negligence

Can I sue the hospital where I had suffered a serious injury?

I receive many phone calls from potential clients asking if they can sue the hospital for the serious injury that they have suffered or for the death that their family member has suffered. In Pennsylvania, the answer is yes, a patient or their family members if it’s a wrongful death case can sue the hospital directly because the hospital is legally responsible for the actions of their employees or agents. Surprisingly, while some doctors are employees of the hospital where they work, many doctors are not employees of the hospital. So, a frequent question is whether the hospital is responsible for the doctor’s negligence. Hospitals can be legally responsible for the doctor’s conduct if it appears that the doctor is an employee of the hospital and the hospital doesn’t make it clear to the patient that the doctor is not an employee. Some hospitals try to dodge this responsibility by hiding this information in the fine print in the admission forms that they force patients to sign before they provide any treatment. At Baldwin Matzus, my law firm has successfully held hospitals legally responsible for injuries caused by doctors, despite the hospital’s attempt to dodge responsibility for the doctor’s conduct.

How does hospital malpractice happen?

Hospital malpractice can occur in too many different circumstances to address them all. However, generally speaking, a hospital is responsible for the medical care provided to patients within the 4 walls of the hospital and it’s responsible to hire competent doctors, nurses and other medical providers who know what they’re doing and provide non-negligent medical care.

What are some examples of hospital negligence?

Some examples of hospital negligence include cases where a nurse may inject the wrong medication into an IV and the patient ends up dying or suffering a serious injury as a result of the wrong medication being administered by the nurse. Another type of hospital negligence can occur when important test results, like biopsy or pathology results, or radiology findings such as x-ray findings, CT findings or MRI findings are not timely communicated to the patient and a delay in diagnosing the patient’s medical condition results in serious harm or death to the patient. Or, the hospital can be legally responsible if the doctor or nurses fail to follow the hospital’s policies or procedure regarding the diagnosis, evaluation, treatment or management of the patient’s condition.

What should I do if I or a loved one suffered a serious injury or death during a hospital admission?

If you or someone you love has suffered a serious injury or death during a hospital admission, please contact my law firm, Baldwin Matzus. We will perform an investigation and root cause analysis to determine if preventable hospital negligence caused the injury or death.