When you suffer an injury from the negligence of a doctor or nurse in Maryland, you have a medical malpractice case. If the doctor or nurse is an agent or employee of a hospital, you may also have a medical malpractice claim against the hospital. While the science and medicine of the claim are usually the same with or without a hospital defendant, there are legal and practice differences in a hospital malpractice claim.
There are a number of theories for why a hospital may be a defendant. The most common is a principal-agent relationship between the hospital and doctor or nurse.
A hospital can itself be the negligent cause of a patient's injury or death. The law governing the corporate negligence of hospitals was first articulated in Maryland in Shilkret v. Annapolis Emergency Hosp. Ass'n, 276 Md. 187, 349 A.2d 245 (1975). This law has been incorporated into Maryland's Pattern Jury Instructions. Instruction Section 27:5 reads: “A hospital is negligent if it does not use that degree of care and skill that a reasonably competent hospital, acting in similar circumstances, would use.” Lawsuits against a hospital for its own negligence also give lawyers the ability to perform more elaborate discovery of the hospital's policies and procedures which is often a treasure trove of uncovering additional negligence.
As a practical matter as I point out in the video, hospitals often make better defendants in malpractice cases than doctors. They are more likely to settle because the insurance companies really do not have much concern about the doctor's reputation. If Dr. John Smith gets hit with a huge verdict, the name does not necessarily resonate. But if a major hospital takes a verdict, that is more likely to reflect poorly on the hospital.
Hospital claims are also more advantageous for victims because jurors sometimes struggle to blame a doctor even when they suspect she may be responsible. If the jury can instead blame the hospital, it is sometimes an easier pill for them to swallow.
You can also find information on hospital malpractice cases on our website along with an analysis of malpractice claims against individual Maryland hospitals.
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If you have any questions about your case, call us at 800-553-8082.
