Health is something that can’t be compromised at any cost and if you are visiting a hospital, especially a mental health facility you are entrusting yourself to someone to whom you expect care, competency, and safety. But what if your life was exposed to a serious threat due to hospital negligence or a hospital misdiagnosis?
Well, in that case, you have no other choice than to sue the mental health facility for their negligence. But can you sue a mental health facility? Though hospital negligence cases are rare they could happen due to several reasons which include in-experienced health practitioners, lack of training, or their
Let’s explore how to sue a mental health facility in the right way if you have the rightful right to do it.
Can You Sue A Mental Health Facility?
Yes, you can sue a mental health facility if the medical staff has failed to fulfill what was expected from them.
As per the respondent superior rule, if anyone out of a medical staff has represented himself as negligent towards his role, he is legally liable for the patient’s injuries. It is especially pertinent when the care or services provided fall below the standard.
In any case, the patient or his family can file a lawsuit against the mental health facility claiming negligence, misdiagnosis, or malpractice.
To initiate the process, it is advisable to consult a lawyer to sue the hospital that specializes in medical negligence law. Getting help from these professionals assists you in finding the viability of the case against the hospital’s reputation, in other ways helping you to document claims and to present it in court.
Reasons To Sue A Mental Health Facility
Here is the list of reasons to sue a hospital:
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- Hospital misdiagnosis: It might seem normal or not a serious problem at first. However, a wrong diagnosis can lead a patient to the wrong medication or even the wrong surgery or operation. This is referred to as medical malpractice and results in reputational damage repair for the mental health facility.
- Injury during a treatment: It might be possible that the practitioner can damage a nerve or a capillary which results in an injury that results in the worsening of the case. Many of such injuries are often not noticed which could turn fatal or irrecoverable.
- Record-keeping errors: Suing a mental health facility is mostly done due to bad record or document keeping. Not keeping a proper record disturbs a patient’s medical history resulting in overmedication or wrong diagnosis.
- Improper treatment: Lack of care and apathy are often observed at mental health facilities despite knowing that the patients here require more care and kindness than in normal hospitals. The staff could turn harsh and unkind to the patients ultimately becoming one reason to sue a hospital.
How To Sue A Mental Health Facility?
To sue a mental health facility against their malpractice you first need to consult an attorney who is familiar with the medical malpractice and personal injury law. He will help you assess whether your claim is valid enough to file a complaint.
After analyzing the viability of suing a hospital, the next step is to ponder whom you want to sue. It could be the entire hospital facility, upper management, or even the individual staff member who showed negligence. Next gather all the documents, proofs, and medical reports to form the base of the claim.
After this, the attorney files a complaint against the mental health facility in the court. The report presented by the attorney documents everything about the hospital’s negligence. It also entails the following:
- Medical Expenses
- Lost income
- Custodial care
- Pain and suffering
- Non-economic damages
- Funeral expenses
After this, the wrong part will ask for the evidence and will also connect to your legal representative. On careful analysis both the parties may settle to some settlement or compensation. In this case, this might be the end of the filed case.
But if the affected parties don’t agree with any settlements they enter the litigation process and have to go through the court’s trial. And then the decision will be declared by the proceeding judge.
How Can Mental Health Facilities Reclaim Their Lost Reputation?
If there comes any case that tarnished the reputation of the medical facility, then the hospital management should investigate it with transparency. They should gather all the necessary evidence against the false allegation. It involves evaluating detailed medical records, investigating staff and nurses, and others.
This is an immediate action. Other than this, hospitals could look out for reputation management services. Getting help from reputation repair services is a strategic move that pays you off on a long term basis.
These professionals are expert at managing your online perception by regulating online reviews, implementation of public campaigns, and engaging the community positively. They not only help you with strengthening the crooked online reputation but also enhance your brand’s credibility in front of potential customers.
How Much Does It Cost To Sue A Hospital?
The cost of suing a hospital for emotional distress, malpractice for misdiagnosis is dependent of variable factors which includes:
- Lawyers fees
- Complexity of the case
- Length of the legal process
- Case filing costs
- Charges for obtaining medical records
The preliminary cost of suing a mental health facility can range from a few hundred dollars but if it goes to trials, the cost to sue a hospital can significantly increase to thousand dollars.
Conclusion
Suing a mental health facility is often done in case of medical negligence, misdiagnosis or negligent medical service. Whatever the reason to sue a hospital is, the suing process involves the hiring of an attorney who is aware of all the nitty gritty of medical lawsuits. Since this is the first by hospital management to claim the hospital’s affected reputation, getting a reputation repair service can further help if all the claims made have been falsified.
