Who is Liable for Wrongful Death Caused by Medical Malpractice?

A wrongful death occurs when a person dies or is killed due to the negligence or misconduct (intent to cause harm) of another person. When a person dies wrongfully as a result of medical malpractice, the estate of the wrongfully deceased may file a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital or other medical professionals who directly contributed to the death. All medical professionals owe patients an “independent professional duty of care” and if that standard is not met service providers from nurses to surgeons may be guilty of malpractice. Any damages awarded in a wrongful death lawsuit go to the beneficiaries of the deceased.

Determining liability in a wrongful death caused by medical malpractice

Hospital

A hospital may be held liable for a wrongful death under several different circumstances.  The two most common are:

1. Negligence of any medical providers directly employed by the hospital including nurses, anesthesiologists and physicians.
2. Negligence on the part of the hospital to adequately manage and oversee the medical care provided at the hospital, to hire and supervise their employees or to maintain and repair their medical equipment.
   1. Hiring employees who are not properly licensed or competent
   2. Failure to fire employees who are unlicensed, incompetent or who make unsafe decisions
   3. Under-staffing of medical and/or nursing staff
   4. Failure to establish proper safety protocols for its staff for issues like sanitation, preventing patient injuries while in hospital care, and labeling and administration of patient medication
   5. Failure to properly train employees to use medical equipment and/or failure to repair and maintain equipment

   Physician negligence

   When a physician is found negligent in a wrongful death case it is most commonly under one of these categories:

   • Errors in prescribing or administering medication
   • Misdiagnosis
   • Negligence affecting injury in pregnancy and childbirth
   • Surgical errors

   Nurse negligence

   When a nurse is found negligent in a wrongful death case it is most often under one of these categories:

   • Administering the wrong type or amount of medication
   • Administering the correct type and amount of medication but at the wrong time
   • Failure to report suspicious symptoms and/or complaints to the physician in charge of the patient
   • Failure to adequately monitor a patient’s vital signs
   • Failure to enter or properly enter the patient’s nursing record into their chart
   • Failure to check a patient for bed sores

   Negligence by independent contractors

   Many hospitals choose to hire physicians as independent contractors. Generally, a hospital is not legally liable for negligence committed by a physician or other medical provider who is not a direct hospital employee. Instead, the independent contractor could be held liable.

   Medical malpractice lawyers and other experts will help to determine whether a medical provider is an employee or independent contractor by analyzing the employment contract and the amount of control that the hospital had over the medical provider’s performance and job conditions.

   Is it possible to sue both the hospital and the medical provider for wrongful death?

   While it is possible to sue both the hospital and a medical provider for a wrongful death, it may not be in the estate’s interest. Your medical malpractice lawyer will make a tactical decision about whether to sue the hospital in addition to the medical provider based partly on how much medical malpractice insurance is carried by the medical professional. If the medical provider has enough malpractice coverage, then the medical malpractice attorney may choose not to sue the hospital in order to avoid facing extra defense attorneys.

   The Seattle personal injury attorneys at Morrow Kidman Tinker Macey-Cushman, PLLC have years of experience representing families harmed by medical malpractice. We seek justice for patients who have been harmed by preventable medical errors including birth injuries, hospital-acquired infections and wrongful death in Seattle and across Washington State. There are no fees or expenses to file a personal injury case as we only receive payment if we recover damages on your behalf. Do not delay; personal injury claims come with a Statute of Limitations, which means they must be filed within a certain time frame of the injury.

   Call us now at (206) 752-4366 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with one of our compassionate, experienced attorneys.