Issue

In this case, the court enunciated a corporate negligence doctrine under which hospitals had a duty to provide an adequately trained medical and nursing staff. In considering this case, how has this influenced the current organizational requirements for the delivery of healthcare?

The profession of medical assistance is considered to be a noble job because it preserves the life the living being. It is a job of keeping the society and the community well in terms of their health. It is believed that the life is given by God and doctors are the figure of God, who stands to carry out the command of Gods. Therefore, a patient comes to a doctor or hospital on the basis of their reputation to conserve their health concerned issues. It is the duty of the doctors and the health care authority to provide the patients with proper treatment and take care of their health. But, with commercialization, the concept of medical services came under the Consumer Protection Act due to certain cases of improper treatments that changed the views over the liability of the hospitals (Ruark, 2006).

Several cases got a judgment on the plaintiff’s side because the hospitals were found in breach of negligence while providing their services. The paper has been developed to study the case regarding the negligence of hospitals and observe how the hospitals are liable for any mistreatment and negligence performed by any of its doctors and medical staffs (Deballon, 2015). The paper mainly surrounds the case of Darling V. Charleston Community Memorial Hospital that brought a revolution in the liability theory of the hospitals.  The essay mainly presents the facts and issues of the case and presents the rule that regulated the case and judgment of the court. Furthermore, the study presents the application of the law that resolved the tort of negligence performed by any healthcare institution while providing their services to the patients (Pozgar, Pozgar, & Pozgar, 2014). A discussion has been made on negligence performed by the medical practitioners and healthcare organizations to identify their liabilities in regards to the wrong treatments.

It can be seen from the case of Darling V. Charleston Community Memorial Hospital that the Plaintiff (Darling) claimed against the Defendant (Charleston Community Memorial Hospital) that the healthcare organization is liable for the negligence performed by the doctor and its staffs. The plaintiff was taken to the emergency department of the Charleston Community Memorial Hospital when Darling was found with a broken leg. Dr Alexander, one of the defendant and attending physician set back the broken leg and put it in a cast. Later on, it was found that the Darling’s toes started turning cold and dark (“Darling v. Charleston Community Memorial Hospital | Casebriefs”, 2016). When the cast was removed after few days, it was found that most of the tissues in the plaintiffs leg got necrotic due to the constriction occurred by the cast. Therefore, to save his leg, the doctor decided to amputate the lower portion of his leg. Finally, the plaintiff suits a case against the Charleston Hospital and Alexander in regard to the tort of negligence (Safian & Safian, 2009). The court found the defendant carrying breach of duty and medical responsibility and returned a verdict of $150,000. Hence, the major issue that arises over here is to know that is the hospital liable for the negligence performed by any of its medical staffs.

Rule

Synopsis of the rule of law

A healthcare organization can be liable for the negligence performed by its medical staffs. It is important to identify whether the hospital is liable for the duty performed by its doctors and medical staffs (Ferrara, 2013). To identify whether an organization is liable for the breach, a negligence test must be conducted.

The negligence test

In order to determine the breach of duty, a three stage negligence test must be satisfied. The three stages of negligence test are presented herein below:

• Does the organization owe a duty of care towards the patients?
• Is there any breach occurred in performing the duty of care?
• Is there any direct result of the breach that has caused legally recognized the harm to the plaintiff?

Medical Duty of Care

According to the US law, the hospitals and healthcare institutions are responsible for taking health care of the patients and provide them with proper services. Along with that, it is the duty of the doctor to provide the patients with proper remedies (Jasper, 2008). Hence, it can be seen that the Charleston Community Memorial Hospital and Dr Alexander owes a medical duty of care to Darling. Hence, it is their duty to serve the Plaintiff with proper care and service to get rid of the problems that brought him to the hospital (Smith, 2014).

Criminal Negligence

When it is asked that the hospital is liable for the negligence caused by its medical staffs, it can be answered with yes. It is because the hospital is responsible for providing the best services to the patients. It is not true that the hospitals only provide facilities and is not responsible for the act of its doctors and medical staffs. It can be seen that the modern hospitals provide much more than only medical facilities (Adams & Garber, 2007). These healthcare organizations employ a huge number of staffs such as doctors, administrators, nurses and other medical workers. Hospitals collect fees through the services rendered by the medical staffs. A patient comes to a hospital on the basis of its reputation and expects it as an entity that will treat his problems (Westrick & Dempski, 2009). Hence, any negligence performed by the medical staff is a liability of the hospital. It is the duty of the administrative department of the hospital to see how the doctors and nurses treat the patient and what sort of services is provided by them (Christman, 2013). Hence, it can be said that the negligence performed by the doctor on behalf of the hospital is also a negligence performed by the hospital. Hence, the hospital is liable for the criminal negligence performed by the doctors and other medical staffs if it is proved with the help of negligence test.

Application

The hospital negligence case study of Darling versus Charleston Community Memorial Hospital can provide an efficient review of the adhered laws to protect the rights of the plaintiff. Lawsuits for medical negligence can be identified as one of the most complicated issues. Medical malpractice is one of the particular kinds of personal health injury case that has been brought to the notice of the court accusing the on duty medical professionals, doctors, medical staffs and healthcare institution (Burlage, 2008). In this particular case, the plaintiff had suffered tissue constriction that had led to leg amputate due to the negligence of the doctor Alexander and the hospital. Such cases can deliver practical knowledge on the legal requirements to prove the negligence from the part of the healthcare institute. For substantial decision-making against the defendant, the plaintiff must identify the legal requirements need to be fulfilled by the healthcare services.

If a victim has suffered a health injury due to the negligence of healthcare staffs and healthcare facilities, it would be the liability of the Institute for the damage done to the victim. Hence, in the case of health care negligence cases, the plaintiff must prove that the duty towards the patient has been breached, and the same has caused sustainable direct injury to the patient (O’Reilly, Sobotka, & Hagan, 2011). For any healthcare institution, there are some significant responsibilities towards the patients and as a service provider, the standard of treatment must be guaranteed.

Hospital Liability for negligence of professional medical staffs

In the case of any malpractice of medical services, there are some major terms to be discussed. First of all, some of the doctors and professional surgeons work with the hospitals as an independent contractor. Other nursing staffs and medical physicians may work directly with the healthcare institute (Wiet, 2005). Now, if a case of negligence will be conducted by the direct employees of a healthcare institution, the plaintiff can sue both the hospital and the accused doctor for the malpractice and both of them must take the legal liability of the case. In the case of an independent contractor, the issue will be a lot more complicated than the normal. Depending on the law of the states, general courts may consider different variables to accuse both the doctor and the hospital in a case of medical negligence (Chatfield, 2013). By identifying the job conditions and agreements between the independent physician and the healthcare institute, the court can prepare the verdict against the doctor and the hospital for the medical negligence such as this real case study.

Legal requirements in a medical malpractice claim

In this very case study of Darling versus Charleston, Community Memorial Hospital may be taken as an example of a breach of the duty of medical care. There are some major obligations and responsibilities to be fulfilled by the healthcare authorities (Pozgar, Pozgar, & Pozgar, 2014). In the case of the breach of any of the duty towards the patients, the malpractice can be taken as medical negligence towards the patients. In this discussion section, the types of medical negligence have been provided as follows to the make arguments more compelling.

• Misdiagnosis: If a medical professional can fail to diagnose the health issues and problem based on the test results, such treatment can be considered as misdiagnosis and the victim can sue the doctor for that misdiagnosis (Williams, 2008).
• Neglect a Patient: Neglecting a patient is one of the common issues in a medical service. Due to medical negligence critical care unit’s patients can suffer irreversible calamity.
• Medication errors: Medication errors are another type of medical negligence that can lead to serious casualty to a patient. In this negligence, doctors are liable to give wrong medicines or drugs that may lead to health damage.
• Improper care: Improper care is a serious issue in the healthcare industry. In this particular case study discussed in the essay paper, malnourishment and malpractice of medical attendance have been led to the casualty of the plaintiff.

As a result of the outcome of the case study, wrong approach and treatment of the attending physician has led to amputate of the leg of the plaintiff. Therefore, the Supreme Court of Illinois settled the court case to analyze whether in such cases both independent doctor and hospital can be accused of the negligence. Meanwhile, in such cases, the liability of the negligence must be taken by Dr Alexander and Charleston Community Memorial Hospital.

Conclusion

The research on the given case study can identify the loopholes in the healthcare laws for practical benefits of the victims due to medical negligence. Evidently, for any malpractice of medical staffs, a patient may suffer life-long health issues. Therefore, the duty towards the patients must be fulfilled at the highest priority. Hence, in the case of any medical negligence towards the patients must be taken under serious crime. In the case of medical negligence, the regulations and laws must be more predictable and helpful for the plaintiff who has suffered the casualty due to the poor health care services. Previously, medical institutes are not liable for any medical negligence done by the independent contractors. Hence, the regulations need to be changed to form a strong and sustainable law so that both the doctor and the healthcare institutes can be prosecuted for any medical negligence. Clearly, the laws and regulations must be more supportive so that the plaintiff of a case of medical negligence can find it easy to prove the negligence happened to him.

References

Adams, J. & Garber, S. (2007). Reducing Medical Malpractice by Targeting Physicians Making Medical Malpractice Payments. J Empirical Legal Studies, 4(1), 185-222. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-1461.2007.00087.x

Burlage, R. (2008). The Municipal Hospital Affiliation Plan in New York City: A Case Study and Critique. The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 46(1), 171. https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3349154

Chatfield, M. (2013). Legal and Ethical Aspects of Treating Critically and Terminally Ill Patients.Health Care Management Review, 8(2), 83-84. https://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00004010-198300820-00019

Christman, L. (2013). Essentials of Health Care Finance. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 27(1), 87-88. https://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00006216-200301000-00014

Darling v. Charleston Community Memorial Hospital | Casebriefs. (2016). Casebriefs.com. Retrieved June 2016, from https://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/health-law/health-law-keyed-to-furrow/liability-of-health-care-institutions/darling-v-charleston-community-memorial-hospital/

Deballon, I. (2015). Programmes for Uncontrolled donation after Circulatory Death: Clinical, Ethical and Legal Benchmarks. Health Care : Current Reviews, 03(01). https://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2375-4273.1000135

Ferrara, S. (2013). Medical malpractice and legal medicine. Int J Legal Med, 127(3), 541-543. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00414-013-0839-2

Jasper, M. (2008). Hospital liability law. New York: Oceana.

O’Reilly, J., Sobotka, J., & Hagan, P. (2011). A practitioner’s guide to hospital liability. Chicago: Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association.

Pozgar, G., Pozgar, G., & Pozgar, G. (2014). Legal and ethical essentials of health care administration. Burlington, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Ruark, R. (2006). Legal and Ethical Parameters of the Right to Die. Home Health Care Management & Practice, 8(4), 30-37. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/108482239600800409

Safian, S. & Safian, S. (2009). Essentials of health care compliance. Clifton Park, N.Y.: Delmar/Cengage Learning.

Smith, W. (2014). Hospital liability for physician negligence. JAMA: The Journal Of The American Medical Association, 251(4), 447-448. https://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.251.4.447

Westrick, S. & Dempski, K. (2009). Essentials of nursing law and ethics. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Wiet, M. (2005). Darling v. Charleston Community Memorial Hospital and Its Legacy. Annals Of Health Law, 14(2), 399-408.

Williams, E. (2008). Patient care. New York: McGraw-Hill, Health Professions Division.