how can i sue a hospital?

Question

The reason why I want to sue the hospital is because the doctor who deliveredmy daughter cut me while doing do and tried to cover it up by saying my daughter "tore" me when she was delivered... however, when he went to stitch me up and cover his tracks he didn't even do that correct and he stitiched me wrong which left me with a certain "abnormal" looking area, down there...if you can understand what I am getting at.
I hope that this explanation is enough for those who asked for it.

it wasn't an episiotomy like some of you think... he cut me on my labia and now i am split there....
there is no reason for that cut to be there at all...

Answer 1

The hospital can be sued under a tortious action - the tort of "negligence". A hospital owes what is known as a "duty of care" to all patients who can be reasonable injured by their acts of omissions.

There are 3 essential components:

1. Duty of care;
2. Breach of duty
3. Damage to plaintiff

Although you state the doctor acted without proper you must show, for the action to succeed, that the doctor did act improperly. To do this you need to show that a reasonable doctor when faced with a similar situation would not have done such acts. This means that he/she fell below the expected standard of care.

It is of no defence for the hospital to state "That's the way we always do such operations". Even conformity with standard practice is no defence. The test is an objective one.

The problem you may have with the hospital is, as always, one of proof. However, due to the fact you have sustained an injury which is clearly a consequence of the acts of the hospital may allow you to plead the legal doctrine "res ipsa loquitur" (which translated means the "facts speaks for themselves). This is done when an damage has occurred to a plaintiff which cannot ordinarily arise without negligence. For example, mice are not found in tins of beans, cars do not mount curbs, and bags of sugar do not fall from buildings unaided.

If you have sustained an injury (and there has been no intervening act breaking the chain of causation since you attended hospital) then how else did the injury occur other than by the acts of the hospital and their staff?

I hope this helps. Good luck with everything!

Answer 2

You hire a lawyer, collect evidence and file the paperwork in court. Note step one is hire a lawyer.

The cut you received (called an episiotomy) is a normal procedure during child birth. I do not believe that the doctor claimed you ripped, you most likely said it was done to prevent you ripping. There is nothing with which the doctor could accidentally cut you.

Answer 3

You go find a solicitor, there are plenty around encouraging people to bleed the NHS dry.

I am sorry, but I hope your reason for doing so is a genuine one, as we seem to becoming a society of suing the pants off of anything or anyone that we can, but its killing all the good we have in this country. Its creating limitations on the care we do receive. And weakening the services we have left.

Answer 4

Firstly you would have to go through the complaints process, each hospital has it's own complains department. You need to ring them and make either a verbal or written complaint. this gets passed to the relevant staff to comment on and a response is drawn up from the Chairman, if you aren't satisfied you can escalate the problem to your MP, Solicitor who will be able to advise you further. I would strongly recommend you go through the complaints procedure first as failure to respond adequately will add fuel to your complaint. Your complaints department will aslo be able to provide you with their complaints process, you can also look on the NHS website for further info.

Answer 5

Contact the Patient Advice and Liason Service. You need to make a formal complaint to start the ball rolling. I have included a link below, so you can have a look at the website.

Answer 6

Good luck, it's a nightmare.... you use a medical malpractice attorney, depending on your case circumstances, you'll end up in civil court in a couple of years....

Answer 7

I believe malpractice suits happen all the time, especially in the US where people love suing each other more then anything. But please don't sue if it's goverment supplied health care (unless they really, really deserve it) because that's selfish, sad, and pathetic.

Answer 8

You will have great difficulty as they all stick together to cover up their mistakes. It will be a long, hard struggle, are you prepared for that.

Answer 9

Well it depends if you have grounds to. Would need a bit more info before answering.

Answer 10

Hiring a lawyer would be a good start.