Hospital Negligence And Malpractice In Indiana
Hospitals are required to provide patients with a certain standard of care. When they fail to uphold this standard of care, leading to bodily injury or death, they can be held accountable.
If you or someone you love visited the hospital but did not receive proper care, you could be entitled to financial compensation. At Hovde Dassow + Deets, our Indianapolis hospital negligence attorneys bring over a century of combined experience and a long-standing reputation for excellent results to each and every case. We understand how devastating it can be to realize that a trusted medical provider’s error was the cause of your injuries or your loved one’s death—and we want to help you fight for the justice you deserve.
Learn how our firm can help you with your hospital negligence case; call 888-229-1778 or contact us online today for a free consultation.
What Is Considered Hospital Negligence?
Under medical malpractice law, “hospital negligence” refers to any error, malpractice, or substandard care carried out in a hospital setting. You may have a hospital negligence or malpractice case if you were improperly treated by a doctor, surgeon, registered nurse, administrative staff, or any other hospital employee.
Some examples of hospital negligence include:
- Ignoring or failing to recognize patients’ symptoms
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of various illnesses or medical conditions
- Failure to diagnose and/or treat patients
- Failure to diagnose cancer
- Failure to order/conduct necessary diagnostic tests
- Misanalysis of laboratory and/or test results
- Failure to obtain informed consent
- Emergency room errors
- Surgical errors, including left-behind objects and wrong-site surgery
- Unnecessary surgery and other procedures
- Medication errors, including improper drug administration and overdose
- Anesthesia errors
- Failure to obtain patients’ medical history
- Failure to refer patients to specialists
- Failure to admit patients
- Early discharge
- Poor follow-up care
- Errors during and after childbirth
These and other forms of hospital negligence can have devastating consequences, ranging from life-altering birth injuries to significantly worsened medical conditions to deadly hospital-acquired infections and more.
How Does Hospital Negligence Happen?
Hospital negligence and errors should never occur, but they are an unfortunate—and common—reality.
There are many reasons for this; some of the most common include:
- Poor communication between hospital staff/departments
- Understaffed hospitals/departments
- Overworked/fatigued hospital doctors, nurses, etc.
- Filing mistakes and other errors with patients’ medical records
- Illegible handwriting/improper use of abbreviations, leading to medication errors
- Poor or insufficient staff training
- Failure to conduct background checks on hospital employees
- Insufficient medical equipment and/or defective equipment
At Hovde Dassow + Deets, we know how to investigate hospital negligence claims to determine the cause of a serious error or act of neglect. This allows our attorneys to prove the hospital’s liability and bring a powerful, evidence-based case against it.
How Long Do You Have To Sue A Hospital For Negligence In Indiana?
Just like other medical malpractice claims, hospital negligence cases are subject to a statute of limitations. This means you have a deadline by which to file your lawsuit. In Indiana, the statute of limitations for most standard hospital negligence claims is two years from the date of alleged malpractice and/or injury. However, if you were not able to discover your injury right away, you could be allowed to file your lawsuit within a “reasonable time” of discovering you were injured.
If you have a hospital negligence case involving injury to a child under the age of six, you have until the child’s eighth birthday to file your lawsuit. This includes cases involving birth injuries, emergency room errors, and other hospital negligence claims.
Is There A Cap On Damages In Hospital Negligence Cases?
Indiana has a cap, meaning a limit on how much you can recover, in all medical malpractice cases, including those involving hospital negligence. For cases occurring between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2019, all economic and noneconomic damages are capped at $1.65 million (total). For cases occurring on or after July 1, 2019, there is a total economic and noneconomic damages cap of $1.8 million.
Additionally, the state has capped attorneys’ fees in medical malpractice cases. For cases occurring after June 30, 2017, attorney fees are capped at 32 percent of the total amount in compensation you receive. In other words, your attorney cannot receive more than 32 percent of your total recovery in legal fees.
How Hovde Dassow + Deets Can Help With Your Hospital Negligence Claim
Navigating the legal process can be extremely difficult and overwhelming, especially when you are already dealing with significant physical, emotional, and financial challenges due to your injuries or losses. As your legal team, we will handle every detail of your case so that you can simply focus on healing and moving forward with your life.
We offer a personalized, hands-on approach and are committed to fighting for the maximum settlement you deserve. If necessary, we are prepared to use our extensive trial experience to fight for you and your rights in court. There are absolutely no upfront or out-of-pocket expenses when you hire our firm; instead, we only get paid if you do.
Call 888-229-1778 or submit a free consultation form today.