What can I do if the hospital dropped me on the floor?

When you go to the hospital you have the expectation that the hospital, doctors, nurses and medical staff will do more good than harm. But what if you experience an injury while under the care of those who were supposed to help you?

Whether you have fallen, been dropped, or been given incorrect medication, you may have suffered severe injuries such as a head trauma, stroke, or fractures. What happens if your injuries were the result of someone else's negligence? Recently on our legal forum a user asked, "What can I do if the hospital dropped me on the floor?"

Can I file a medical malpractice case if I was dropped at the hospital?

Filing a medical malpractice case for a drop will require more than proving someone's actions were negligent. In fact, to win your case you will have to prove several elements of your case: they owed you a duty, they breached their duty, their breach was the proximate cause of your injuries, and you suffered loss.

Elements of a medical malpractice case

Let's evaluate each of these elements. First, you will have to prove the doctor had a duty towards you. This will be easy to prove. The doctor or other healthcare provider owes you a legal duty by virtue of your doctor/patient relationship.

Next, you will need to decide whether the care you received was in keeping with accepted professional standards or whether the doctor or nurse breached their duty and violated the generally accepted standards of care performed by other professionals in your community, under similar circumstances.

If you have been dropped, especially if you can prove the medical facility did not use accepted standards to transport you, you may be able to prove the doctor or nurse breached their duty of care.

Next, you will need to prove the breach was the proximate cause of your injuries. If you were dropped and then had a fracture or brain injury, proving proximate cause may be simple. But proving proximate cause could be difficult for patients who were not in good health prior to the drop.

The real question is whether your current state of health is due to their negligence and breach of duty or whether it is simply the result of you disease or injury. So before filing your case make sure you can prove your medical outcome is the result of the nurses or doctor's negligent or substandard actions, not your condition.

Finally, you will have to prove loss. This could be the most difficult step. Although you may be in a frail or weakened state, there are many patients who are dropped due to the negligence of a medical care worker but do not suffer any injury or loss. If you do not suffer loss or injury, you do not have a personal injury case.

What do I do after I have been dropped in the hospital?

What's the bottom line? Before calling a personal injury lawyer or deciding whether or not to file an injury claim, consider all the information provided above. Decide whether or not someone was actually negligent. Consider if their actions were different than what other medical professionals would have done in a similar circumstance. Consider whether or not you are really injured. If you do not have a strong case, there is no reason to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.