Livonia, NY Personal Injury Law Firms & Lawyers

For your initial question (What legal actions can I do against hospital maltreatment?) you can, if you cannot reach a settlement with the hospital or its insurer, sue the hospital. I cannot answer whether you have a case against the hospital for the improper placement of your IV as I do not have enough information. Generally, to establish medical malpractice you must prove each of the following: (1) the generally recognized medical standard of care; (2) a deviation from that standard by the doctor; (3) that the deviation was the proximate cause of your alleged injuries; and (4) the nature and extent of your injuries and damages. More simply, you have to prove that the nurse or medical person who put in the IV did, or did not do, something that nurses or personel would have differently under the same circumstances. In most cases, a doctor must establish (usually through his or her testimony) these items. You also do not indicate what harm you sustained as a result of the incident. This goes to items #3 and #4 and, in many cases, usually deals more with the value of a case. However, you do have to show you were "injured" by the IV being placed wrong. Another item you should be aware of is the statute of limitation, which is the period of time in which you have to either have a case settled or a lawsuit filed. If you do not do these items before the statute of limitations expires you lose all rights to collect money. In general, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice is two years from the date of the injury. However, if the hospital was operated by a city, county, state, a political subdivision or the federal government, there is a different procedure you must follow to be able to pursue your case as well as different time limits. You should talk to an attorney as soon as possible to find out, at the minimum, how much time you have to make a claim, as well as whether you have a case.

"What if" and "don't know" are of no legal significance. You don't know if you chipped a tooth. Well, if you don't know, then you can't prove it. If you can't prove it, you have no basis for establishing liability. If you can't establish liability, then you cannot make any claim. "What if" means "didn't happen". You can't make a claim for what didn't happen.

In order to prove a medical malpractice case (including psychiatric malpractice) a claimant must prove a failure to conform to accepted practice, resulting in an injury. A bad result is not enough, and if it is a "judgment call" by the doctor, there is no malpractice, even if the doctor made the wrong call.