Medical Malpractice at Kansas City, KS City Hospitals
Posted in Lawsuit on November 18, 2019
Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals undergo rigorous training to ensure that they provide us with a certain standard of care whenever we seek treatment. However, these professionals and the hospitals they work at can fail to uphold this standard – leading to severe injury, a worsening illness, or additional complications that we were not prepared for.
If you are the victim of medical malpractice at the hands of a hospital in Kansas City, Kansas, you have the right to file a lawsuit against the facility in civil court. However, you can only hold a hospital accountable for your injuries under certain circumstances – and you will need the assistance of an attorney to file your claim.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
All doctors, nurses, dentists, obstetricians, surgeons, and all other medical professionals must provide each and every patient with quality care and treatment. They are subject to upholding these standards – and any negligent act or omission that leads to a patient’s injury breaches their duty of care. This is known as medical malpractice.
As a victim of medical malpractice, you can choose to file a lawsuit for compensatory damages in Kansas civil court. You can hold the individual professionals responsible for your injuries liable in your claim. You can also choose to hold the Kansas City hospital where you suffered your injuries responsible as well – as long as the circumstances of your case fit one of the following conditions.
- The doctor or other medical professional responsible for your damages was an employee of the hospital, not an independent contractor.
- The doctor or other medical professional’s incompetence was so apparent that the hospital should have noticed and took proper action, but failed to do so.
Medical malpractice can involve a number of unprofessional and dangerous practices, including the following.
- Failure to diagnose
- Misdiagnosis
- Surgical errors
- Leaving a foreign object in the body after surgery
- Unnecessary amputations
- Birth injuries
- Performing surgery on the wrong body part
- Prescribing the wrong medication or dosage
- Failure to read lab reports
How to Prove a Medical Malpractice Case
If you are filing a medical malpractice lawsuit against a Kansas City hospital, you and your attorney will need to work together to establish that medical negligence occurred. To successfully prove medical negligence, you will need to satisfy its four elements – also known as the four D’s.
- Duty: To file a lawsuit against a hospital, you need to prove that the medical professional responsible for your injuries owed you a duty of care. Proving that the professional treated you in the hospital while in a professional capacity can satisfy this element.
- Dereliction: This refers to the professional or the hospital’s breach of duty of care. For example, failure to diagnose, providing faulty equipment, or allowing a clearly incompetent surgeon to perform a major surgery can all constitute dereliction. Your attorney can provide expert witnesses and examine medical records to help you prove this element.
- Direct causation: After establishing dereliction, you will need to prove that the professional or hospital’s breach of care led to your injuries. Medical records and expert testimony can help support this claim.
- Damages: Finally, you will need to prove that you suffered damages that you can collect in your lawsuit. Your damages must relate to the injuries you are seeking compensation for, not the injury or illness you originally sought treatment for. Your attorney can help you determine which damages you may be eligible to collect.
Which Hospitals Are in Kansas City, Kansas?
You can suffer an injury in any hospital that you go to seek treatment – including one of the hospitals in Kansas City, Kansas. With a population of just over 150,000 people, Kansas City only has two hospitals to serve its public.
- University of Kansas Medical Center
- Providence Medical Center
If you suffered an instance of medical malpractice at the hands of healthcare providers at either of these facilities, you have the right to collect compensatory damages through a lawsuit. However, you will need assistance filing and proving your case – and the attorneys at Fowler Pickert Eisenmenger Norfleet can help.
Our lawyers have significant experience representing clients in their medical malpractice lawsuits in Kansas City, Overland Park, and more. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation and to begin the filing process.