Doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and other medical professionals can be held accountable for mistakes made during medical exams and procedures. When a mistake causes an injury or, in the worst cases, death, you should immediately consult an attorney. You may be compensated substantially for your or your loved one’s medical bills, pain and suffering, and other economic and non-economic damages. We realize you have options regarding legal representation, but we are confident that Power Rogers is the clear choice for your case. Our Chicago hospital negligence lawyers can help walk you through the complex process of a medical malpractice claim.

What Is a Hospital Lawyer?

A hospital lawyer, or medical malpractice lawyer, represents patients who have been injured as well as families of patients who have been incapacitated or died due to avoidable medical errors.

According to a 2024 Forbes article, medical malpractice is unfortunately common across the United States:

One in three medical providers is sued for medical malpractice
3-15% of medical interventions result in avoidable errors
Misdiagnosis is a common type of malpractice
Surgeons are the medical professionals most likely to be sued for malpractice

Medical malpractice cases can result in billions of dollars in settlements and are primarily covered by medical malpractice insurance. Medical errors are responsible for 9.5% of deaths in the United States each year and account for a quarter million deaths each year, making this the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

Risks of Hospital Care

Hospitals are meant to be safe havens for healing, but errors within hospital systems can lead to devastating consequences. Alarmingly, studies reveal that 100,000 Americans die each year due to preventable hospital mistakes. An even more troubling statistic from a 2012 report highlights that nearly 90% of hospital errors go unreported. This lack of accountability can perpetuate errors and harm countless patients. Hospital negligence can lead to severe consequences; consult our birth injury lawyer for assistance.

Key statistics include:

44% of serious hospital mistakes are preventable
1 in 7 patients suffer long-term injuries or death due to hospital care
1 in 3 admissions at leading hospitals result in harm to the patient

Efforts to improve hospital safety have shown promise. For instance, in 2004, Michigan hospital units implemented safety checklists to reduce catheter-related infections, cutting infection rates by 66% and saving approximately 1,500 lives within 18 months. Additionally, 29 states now mandate public reporting of infection rates, and 28 states require hospitals to disclose errors—a significant step toward accountability.

Profiting from Surgical Errors

Disturbingly, some hospitals inadvertently profit from surgical errors. Studies reveal that complications during surgery can extend patient stays and require additional treatments, leading to increased insurance payouts to hospitals. While no evidence suggests hospitals intentionally make errors, the financial structure provides little incentive for improvement. Conversely, hospitals that reduce errors and discharge patients sooner may face financial losses.

This flawed system emphasizes the importance of legal action. By holding hospitals accountable for subpar care, patients not only seek compensation but also encourage systemic change. At Power Rogers, we have extensive experience handling medical malpractice cases, ensuring that negligence does not go unchecked.

How to Protect Yourself During a Hospital Stay

While hospitals strive to provide quality care, patients can take steps to safeguard themselves:

Have an advocate: A trusted person can act as your advocate during check-in, discharge, and throughout your stay. If needed, request a patient advocate from the hospital.
Keep records: Document medications, treatments, and the names of caregivers. This information can be invaluable if issues arise.
Promote hygiene: Use hand sanitizer to remind yourself and your care providers to maintain cleanliness.

Legal Recourse for Hospital Negligence

When a hospital’s negligence results in harm, patients may have grounds for a medical malpractice claim. Examples of hospital negligence include:

Surgical errors
Failure to diagnose
Medication errors
Birth injuries
Misdiagnosis of life-threatening conditions

At Power Rogers, our Chicago hospital negligence lawyers help victims navigate complex malpractice cases. We’ve secured significant settlements for clients, including $55 million for a brain injury caused during a procedure. Our team ensures that negligent healthcare providers are held accountable, offering support and expertise throughout the legal process.

Hospital Negligence Lawyer Near Me

The office of Power Rogers is located inside Three First National Plaza at 70 West Madison Street #5500 in downtown Chicago. Situated at the heart of the Chicago Loop, our office is easily reached by bus and the “L.” Contact us if you need assistance finding the office or scheduling a consultation.

Can I Sue a Hospital For Negligence?

In Illinois, your medical providers are required to abide by the standard of care, which is what a reasonably careful provider of the same specialty would do under the same of similar circumstances. When a medical practitioner in a hospital acts below the acceptable standard of care, you may have recourse for a medical malpractice claim, either against the practitioner, hospital, or both. Whether you can sue the hospital typically depends on the practitioner’s relationship with the facility and whether an institutional claim against the hospital can be pursued.

Power Rogers has successfully litigated cases against hospitals for the actions of their employed and independently employed providers when the provider is acting as the apparent agent of the hospital and the patient relied on the hospital for care as opposed to the specific provider. Interestingly, the number of independent doctors has steadily fallen over the years. A 2023 report by the Physicians Advocacy Institute, stated that 77.6% of doctors are employees.

How Much Can You Sue a Hospital For Negligence?

Physicians and hospitals generally maintain medical malpractice liability coverage, “malpractice insurance” to protect them in the event of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Because coverage depends on a variety of factors, understanding the proper parties to the lawsuit and the types of coverage they maintain is essential to understanding the possibilities for any potential recovery. Malpractice insurance companies maintain teams of risk management experts and trial attorneys who deal with medical malpractice claims every day. For this reason, those looking to sue a hospital or doctor for negligence shouldn’t move forward without an experienced attorney on their side.

How To Navigate a Hospital Negligence Lawsuit in Illinois

Hospital negligence lawsuits are complex. First, it is essential to understand what constitutes negligence. Any time a health care professional fails to fulfill the average standard of care, which results in causing preventable harm to a patient, this qualifies as negligence. This can include misdiagnosis, overlooking symptoms, incorrect treatment, disregarding patient history, failing to take a patient’s concerns seriously, all the way up to making serious errors during surgery.

Proving hospital negligence is a difficult and lengthy process. It involves several steps: requests for documents, discovery, depositions, interviews, document reviews, and a settlement negotiation or trial. Your attorney must provide compelling evidence that the accused healthcare provider or hospital breached their duty of care and did not provide the expected standard of care. They must link the breach in the standard of care to a resulting injury and show what damage was caused to the injured party.

A hospital negligence lawyer can guide and advocate for you throughout the stressful and complicated process of a hospital negligence lawsuit. Power Rogers’ attorneys can help hold the healthcare providers responsible for your harm accountable and stand by you until the case is resolved.

Some of the essential steps involved in filing a hospital negligence lawsuit include:

Reviewing the statute of limitations. In Illinois, you generally have a time limit of two years to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit; however, there are several exceptions to this timeframe that can shorten or lengthen it and require analysis by an experienced lawyer.
Retaining and reviewing medical records related to the injury.
Determining the extent and cost of your damages.
Establishing liability, which requires input from expert medical providers in all involved medical specialties.
Gathering evidence, such as documentation, depositions, and interviews.
Negotiating a settlement. This is the most likely outcome, with only about 3 percent of medical malpractice cases going to trial.
Going to trial if settlements fail. If this happens, your lawyer will represent you in court and a judge or jury will determine the outcome.

Why Should I Choose a Hospital Negligence Lawyer At Power Rogers?

Power Rogers is one of Illinois’ leading personal injury firms and has been voted one of the nation’s “Best Law Firms” in Medical Malpractice Law. We have won substantial settlements and verdicts, including $55 million for a client who suffered from a brain injury during a procedure. When you work with us, you can rest easy knowing that some of the country’s best lawyers have your back.

Types of Hospital Negligence Cases We Handle

Some of the most common hospital negligence cases we handle include birth injuries, surgical errors, failure to diagnose, failure to recognize internal bleeding, heart attack misdiagnosis, cancer misdiagnosis, emergency room errors, and medication errors.

Contact Our Hospital Negligence Lawyers Today

If you or someone you love believes that you could have a lawsuit against a hospital for negligence or malpractice, we invite you to contact the Chicago hospital negligence lawyers at Power Rogers. We’ll review the details of your situation at no cost to you and explain your legal rights and options. Should you choose to contact us and should we end up taking your case, we will walk you through the process so you can know what to expect. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Call us or fill out our online contact form to get started.