When Following Hospital Protocol Is Not Enough to Avoid Liability
Sometimes, following hospital protocols is not enough to avoid patient harm. Each year, more than 424,000 people suffer permanent disabilities due to diagnostic errors, with thousands more having fatal consequences. Although a doctor may feel that completing a checklist satisfies the standard of care, this does not always apply. Anytime a doctor displays poor clinical judgment or endangers a patient’s safety, he or she may be held liable for any resulting harm. If you or a family member has fallen victim to a physician’s oversight, do not hesitate to contact our Greenville medical malpractice attorneys.
Requirements for a Medical Malpractice Claim
A successful medical malpractice claim requires that you prove the following:
- Duty of care: There must be an established doctor-patient relationship. If so, then the doctor must have followed the acceptable standard of care. This standard is measured by determining what a competent physician in the same field would do in the same or similar circumstances.
- Breach of duty: By either an act or failure to act, a physician deviates from the medical standard of care.
- Causation: The physician’s actions must be the direct cause of your injuries.
- Damages: As a result of the medical negligence, you suffered physical, emotional, and financial damages. In a standard medical malpractice case, this may include medical bills, lost wages, and emotional distress.
Hospital Protocols May Not Match the Standard of Care
Unfortunately, simply following a checklist or hospital protocols will not prevent harm. For instance, an ER doctor may diagnose a patient with constipation if they present with abdominal discomfort, a week without bowel movements, pain while breathing deeply, and a low-grade fever.
Additionally, the patient has no pain over McBurney’s point (a key indicator of appendicitis). After a physical examination, in which the doctor finds the abdomen to be tight and rigid, the doctor confirms their diagnosis of constipation. Even though the patient requests a CT scan to rule out anything else, the doctor refuses.
Instead of listening to the patient’s concerns, the physician prescribes a laxative and sends the patient home. The doctor tells the patient to return if the pain worsens or if they do not experience a bowel movement within four days. Hours after returning home, the patient’s appendix ruptures, requiring immediate emergency surgery.
In this example, the doctor would still be held liable for complications that the patient experiences due to the missed diagnosis. Alternatively, a doctor who follows hospital protocols may still be found liable if these protocols do not match the prevailing literature of the current standard of care. In any situation, the doctor should use their clinical judgment to determine the best course of action.
Consult with Our Greenville Medical Malpractice Lawyers
If you have been injured due to a physician’s carelessness, your concerns should be addressed. At Parham Smith & Archenhold LLC, we believe that you should be compensated fully anytime another person is responsible for the harm you sustained. To schedule a meeting with one of our Greenville medical malpractice attorneys, our office can be reache online or by phone at (864) 432-1796 today.