Who is responsible for injuries in a medical malpractice case?

On Behalf of | Aug 14, 2020 | Personal Injury

When you have long-term physical complications after a surgery or other procedure, you may rush to place the blame solely on the doctor.

However, there is a wide scope of people who may contribute to this injury beyond the attending physician.

Improper drug dosages

In the case of an untested or poorly labeled medicine, pharmaceutical companies may share the blame. According to FindLaw, some manufacturers that hope to cut corners may not warn of the more intense side effects of a drug, which can lead to severe health issues for patients. Lack of testing or knowledge about side effects leads to a physician mistakenly using drugs that interact poorly with another medicine and cause internal damage.

Respondeat superior

The hospital itself may also play a role in a lawsuit against the doctor. Due to the nature of their relationship, an employer is liable for negligence from a medical employee if the employee was acting on the word of the employer.

However, in some cases, employees are independent contractors of hospitals and do not have the same protection as regular employees. This changes the nature of the relationship, because employers are not held to the idea of respondeat superior.


Allowing unlicensed employees to operate on patients can lead to severe repercussions for both the hospital and the patients. If a hospital does not inquire about their staff’s medical education, then it is possible that the hospital is at fault for any injuries sustained during surgery.

The hospital fails in its responsibilities if it does not investigate credentials or fails to place enough staff on duty. In order to prevent medical malpractice, hospitals need to account for a shortage of nurses and professionals while dealing with patients.