Can You Sue a Hospital for Wrongful Death?

The loss of a loved one due to a wrongful death in a hospital is emotionally devastating and can result in large financial losses, but surviving family members may be entitled to compensation by suing a hospital for wrongful death. While no amount of money can make up for the death of someone you love, a financial settlement can help pay your bills and make it easier to go on with your life.

In Kentucky, you can sue the hospital for wrongful death in some situations where the hospital was at fault, but the advisability of such an action depends on the circumstances involved. Hospitals have a duty of care to their patients, the same as the doctors and other healthcare employees with patient responsibilities. The hospital organization can be sued for wrongful death when they are negligent and fail to provide services or goods that are required to keep patients alive and out of danger.

However, hospital lawsuits are complicated. Not everything that goes wrong with a patient is the fault of the hospital, and hospitals and their insurance companies have high-powered lawyers working to defend them, deny claims of malpractice outright, or get you to settle for the lowest amount possible. That is why it’s important to consult with a wrongful death attorney to see if you have a valid lawsuit, what it should be worth, and determine the best way to fight for fair compensation that helps you and your family move forward from this tragic loss.

Compensation in a Wrongful Death Case

Under Kentucky law, a “wrongful death” occurs when “the death of a person results from an injury inflicted by the negligence or wrongful act of another.” The law (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 411.130) allows the personal representative of the deceased to sue for the benefit of family members. If there is no personal representative, such as if the deceased person is a child with no estate or the person died without a will, the court will appoint someone to act as personal representative.

If the case is successful, compensation will be awarded to pay for funeral expenses, administration costs, and any attorneys’ fees, and then surviving family members will receive the remainder of the damages awarded.

Damages in a hospital wrongful death lawsuit are meant to recover money that would otherwise be earned by the family member who lost their life, as well as expenses the family members face due to their loved one’s loss. Damages may include:

• Lost wages or other income
• Loss of companionship
• Funeral and burial expenses
• Medical bills
• Pain and suffering of the survivors
• Loss of pension or retirement funds.

Damage awards in a successful hospital lawsuit can be substantial, as juries are likely to be sympathetic when a wrongful death is involved.

When Can You Sue a Hospital for Wrongful Death?

The hospital organization can be sued for wrongful death when they are negligent. Here are some of the conditions for which a hospital can be sued regarding a wrongful death:

• Inadequate facility maintenance and sanitation
• Inattention to patients that need higher levels of care
• Improper care for bedridden patients
• Allowing bedsores to take hold
• Poor hiring standards
• Improper delivery of medication
• Failure to fire incompetent or unlicensed employees.

However, hospitals aren’t always responsible for a wrongful death in their facility, so whether or not they can be sued would depend on the situation.  For example, if a doctor made a mistake or a careless staff member caused a fall or infection, a hospital could be held responsible for that individual’s actions thanks to vicarious liability laws. However, if the negligent party is not an employee of the hospital, these liability laws would not apply and the hospital may not be responsible.

Suing a Hospital When a Healthcare Employee was at Fault

Suing a hospital may not be advisable when it’s clear that the wrongful death was caused by a physician, nurse, technician, or any member of the medical staff that has patient responsibilities. In the event that the hospital was operating normally and employees were held to accepted standards, it’s difficult to show that the hospital was negligent, as the hospital administration played no direct role in the actions taken by the employee that led to a wrongful death. In this case, you may be able to sue the negligent medical provider for medical malpractice and wrongful death directly.

However, a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital may be possible if it can be proven that a decision was made by the administrative staff that led to a wrongful death in a hospital. For example, the hospital may have hired an employee without checking references, not trained the employee properly, failed to supervise the employee, or failed to investigate claims that the employee was not following accepted standards.

When a Hospital is Liable for Non-Employees

Sometimes a physician has privileges to work at a hospital through a contract, but is not an employee of the hospital. Technically speaking, when a doctor or surgeon is a contractor, the hospital doesn’t have oversight of their actions and therefore has no responsibility for what they did or didn’t do during the procedure. This is true when the hospital has given the physician access on good faith. That is, the hospital felt the doctor or surgeon had a good reputation prior to contracting with them, and there was an expectation that the physician would do their job according to their training and accepted standards.

However, a hospital can be held liable when they knew that the non-employee was not carrying out their duties properly and failed to take corrective action. When a hospital knows that a physician is performing poorly, yet keeps that physician on contract, the hospital may be putting the lives of its patients at risk.

This opens up the hospital for liability in a wrongful death in a hospital lawsuit. Loved ones who suspect the death was caused by negligence of a hospital should consult with a wrongful death attorney who can gain access to hospital records and determine whether or not the hospital is liable.

Proving Negligence in a Hospital Wrongful Death Lawsuit

To win your case, your wrongful death attorney would have to show that the hospital was negligent and at fault for the death of your loved one.  This means producing solid evidence to support the following legal elements:

• Duty – The hospital owed the patient a duty to provide safe, reasonable, and informed medical care and not cause harm.
• Breach – The hospital breached this duty by acting in a negligent or reckless manner or failing to take necessary actions.
• Cause – This negligent action or inaction directly caused harm.
• Damages – You sustained verifiable damages as a result.

Get Help with a Hospital Wrongful Death

If you’ve suffered the loss of a loved one in a hospital, there is help available from the experienced wrongful death attorneys at the Johnson Law Firm.  Attorney Billy Johnson can meet with you to discuss what happened, determine who was at fault, conduct investigations to gather and preserve evidence, and handle all legal requirements, court filings, and negotiations involved with recovering the financial compensation you deserve.

Let Billy take the burden off you and fight for justice, so you can have the peace of mind knowing that your loved one’s death won’t be dismissed or ignored and that the guilty party will be prevented from harming other patients in the future. The Johnson Law Firm offers prospective clients an initial case evaluation for free, and there are no fees unless and until we win your case, so call us today to get started.

GET HELP NOW 606-437-4488