Can You Sue A Hospital For Wrongful Death?
Hospitals are meant to be places of treatment and healing. However, some of these institutions are directly responsible for the wrongful deaths of patients. These victims’ surviving loved ones can seek justice and recompense.
Wrongful death cases involve shattered dreams and pain. Bachus & Schanker works with those who have lost loved ones unnecessarily. We fight to hold the offenders accountable for the damages they owe you by law.
We have worked with numerous clients who’ve lost loved ones in this manner. However, our experience with wrongful death cases is also personal. One of our founding members, Kyle Bachus, went through years of pain after he lost his mother to negligence. This has shaped our efforts to always fight hard on our clients’ behalf.
Kyle Bachus truly knows what you are going through, and our firm is here to help. Call or reach out online for a free consultation.
Wrongful Death And Hospital Liability
Wrongful death occurs when a person dies as a result of another’s intentional, reckless, or negligent actions. When a hospital is the alleged offender, two of the main grounds for liability are hospital negligence and vicarious liability.
Hospital Negligence
Hospital negligence refers to acts or omissions that fall below the prescribed standards of care. To prove a hospital liable under this theory, you must point to specific instances or examples, such as:
- Negligent hiring
- Supervisory negligence
- Inadequate facilities and equipment
- Improper patient discharge
Regarding negligent hiring, hospitals must take reasonable care to hire properly licensed and trained professionals with a reasonable record of safety. If a hospital employs a medical professional or other worker with a troubled history, the hospital could be held liable if the worker causes a wrongful death.
A troubled history could mean many things, including:
- Multiple prior disciplinary and safety incidents
- Violent criminal history
- History of recklessness
- History of wrongful death
- Lack of proper license or certification
Supervisory negligence involves failures at the management level, such as scheduling and discipline problems. Hospitals are to ensure that proper staff is scheduled every time a patient is being attended to. Proper staff means having the right number of appropriately trained, experienced, and rested individuals.
However, hospitals sometimes fail to schedule the appropriate workers or properly train individuals. They also sometimes schedule medical professionals for an unreasonably high number of hours. If a death occurs as a result of these errors, the hospital may be sued for wrongful death.
In some shocking cases, hospitals turn a blind eye to employees’ use of drugs or alcohol, which is not uncommon in the medical profession. Functioning alcoholics or drug users threaten hospital patients. When hospitals know or should know an employee is impaired, they can end up facing a hospital wrongful death lawsuit.
Vicarious Liability
Employers can be held liable for their employee’s negligent actions through the doctrine of vicarious liability. In hospitals, all manner of employees work throughout the day and night, including:
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Technicians
- Administrators
- Custodians
- Handy workers
- Security personnel
Any one of these workers may potentially cause a death on hospital grounds. When this happens, the hospital would likely be vicariously liable in most cases.
An important note is that some doctors and other workers are not employees but independent contractors. Vicarious liability does not typically apply to non-employees. The courts have only allowed vicarious liability claims against hospitals for independent contractors in a few cases.
Who Can File A Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
In Colorado, as in every other state, only certain persons are legally authorized to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Depending on how much time has passed when the lawsuit is filed, the following parties alone may have standing to sue:
- Surviving spouse
- Children
- Parents
- Designated beneficiary
During the first year immediately following someone’s wrongful death, the surviving spouse has the exclusive right to sue. The spouse may invite other authorized members to join the lawsuit.
After one year has passed, the children may file. If there are no spouses or children remaining, or no lawsuit has been filed, the parents of the deceased may file a wrongful death lawsuit.
If you feel you have the right to sue a hospital for wrongful death, don’t delay reaching out to our wrongful death attorneys for pertinent guidance and tailored counsel. There is a two-year statute of limitations for most wrongful death claims.
We offer free consultations for new clients. Our team will review your wrongful death case to determine your options and fight to get you what you deserve for your loss.
Wrongful Death Damages
Wrongful death damages are calculated based on the losses experienced by survivors. The deceased’s pain and damages may be recouped by their personal representative in a survivor’s action lawsuit.
For the family, several categories of damages for wrongful death are available under law, including:
- Lost wages that would have been earned by the deceased
- Loss of benefits, such as life insurance
- Loss of love, companionship, affection, etc.
Wrongful death damages contemplate the future and attempt to replace a lost soul with money. Money can never replace a life but can make many situations easier. At Bachus & Schanker, we have been fortunate to witness time and again just how much of a difference compensation can make in the lives of grieving people.
Damage Caps
For years, Colorado has had some of the most restrictive damage caps for medical malpractice and wrongful death claims. In January 2025, however, these damage caps will rise considerably. For claims filed after January 1, 2025, the cap for wrongful death damages will grow to $2.125 million for cases not involving medical malpractice.
For cases involving medical malpractice, the wrongful death cap increases to $1.575 million over a five-year period. After the five years have passed, the cap will be adjusted periodically for inflation.
This increase in damage caps for wrongful death and medical malpractice cases is an acknowledgment by the legislature and the governor that survivors of wrongful death and medical malpractice need and deserve substantial damages to weather the future ahead of them.
Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Vs. General Wrongful Death
Depending on the circumstances of the loss of your loved one, you may be filing a medical malpractice wrongful death claim. Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional fails to discharge their duties properly, harming their patient. If they die due to that negligence, the wrongful death lawsuit will be based on medical malpractice.
However, hospital deaths that are unrelated to medical treatment lead to general claims of wrongful death. For example, if a faulty guardrail at a hospital causes a person to fall and die, medical malpractice would not factor into the claim. Instead, the negligence would be based on premises liability.
Regardless of the type of wrongful death claim you have, Bachus & Schanker is here to help. We are prepared to fight for your future by getting justice today.
Justice For Your Family
There is no excuse for wrongful death, which is why the law says offenders must pay. Nonetheless, hospitals and their insurance companies will fight vigorously against fair hospital wrongful death settlements. At Bachus & Schanker, we know how to fight to make them pay what they owe.
If a hospital’s negligence has taken someone from you, contact the wrongful death attorneys at Bachus & Schanker. You may be entitled to damages that will help relieve your pain and address your losses. Call for a free consultation, or contact us online today.