Should I Sue the Hospital or an Individual Doctor?

If you’ve been injured by a doctor or another medical professional, it’s normal to have a lot of questions. One of the most common is “Should I sue the hospital or an individual doctor?” Understanding what counts as medical negligence, what to do after it occurs, and who you can hold liable is essential in these cases.

What is medical malpractice?

Medical malpractice in Washington happens when a healthcare provider does not use the standard care that other similar professionals would use in the same situation. This breach can cause injury, more health complications, or even death.

Doctors, nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and other medical workers all have a legal duty to do their jobs competently. Victims who are hurt by substandard care may have the right to file a claim for damages, depending on the details of what happened.

Common examples of medical malpractice

Washington law includes different types of situations under the umbrella of medical malpractice. Here are some of the most common examples:

Surgical errors

Mistakes in the operating room can involve performing the wrong surgical procedure, operating on the wrong body part, or accidentally leaving surgical tools inside the patient. Additionally, anesthesia errors during surgery could occur and end up being malpractice.

Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis

When a medical professional gets an illness or condition wrong or fails to find the problem in time, a person might miss a window for effective treatment. Delays and errors in diagnosis can bring unnecessary suffering and more severe outcomes.

Birth injuries

Errors at childbirth, such as delayed C-sections and poor monitoring during labor, can cause serious injury to the mother and the baby. Many of these are lifelong and are completely avoidable with proper care.

Medication errors

Medical teams can make mistakes in prescribing or giving drugs. This includes the wrong type, wrong dosage, mislabeled medications, or dangerous drug combinations.

These are just a few examples of how a medical provider can be negligent. The best way to determine if you have a medical malpractice claim is to schedule a free consultation with a medical malpractice lawyer in Washington.

Who could be liable for medical malpractice, and who should you sue?

Figuring out who to sue for medical malpractice is more complicated than it seems. It’s not as simple as just suing the doctor or the hospital and moving on. Responsibility might belong to more than one person or organization, depending on the details. Here’s how this can work:

Hospital liability – vicarious responsibility

In many cases, a hospital is responsible for what its staff does while on the job. This is because of something known as vicarious liability, which makes businesses responsible for mistakes their employees make at work. This is true even if the hospital as an entity didn’t do anything negligent. Nurses, orderlies, techs, and ER doctors will fit into this category if they are direct employees of the hospital.

Direct liability for hospitals

Hospitals can also be held directly to blame when injuries trace back to unsafe procedures or a lack of safety systems within the facility. Examples include not providing proper supervision, cutting corners on training, or chronic understaffing. In many circumstances, you could have a claim against both the medical staff and the hospital.

Independent contractors – when the doctor is solely responsible

Sometimes, healthcare workers operate as independent contractors instead of employees. This tends to happen with surgeons, anesthesiologists, or certain specialists. If you’re injured because of the negligence of an independent contractor, the hospital will likely argue that they can’t be held liable and can only be sued for what actual employees do.

Courts in Washington look at who controls the schedule and decisions of providers. If the hospital set up most details and presented the contractor as a part of the hospital care team, you may have an argument that the hospital is liable for their behavior.

For emergency-department care, hospitals may be liable even if the physician is an independent contractor (nondelegable duty). Outside the ER, hospitals may still be liable under apparent agency or corporate negligence, depending on the facts. Victims rarely know if their providers are truly hospital employees, because this isn’t obvious until the claim is investigated or a lawsuit reveals internal staffing agreements.

No matter what, you deserve to know who is responsible and to have the chance to hold them liable. The best way to do this is to speak with a medical malpractice lawyer right away.

Filing claims against large health systems

Filing claims against large health systems in Washington State can be even more complicated.

Complex structure and layers of responsibility

Big hospital systems, like UW Medicine or Swedish, usually have complicated organizational structures. One patient visit might involve staff, doctors, or facilities spread over several departments or even separate companies under the same umbrella. Sorting out who had actual control or responsibility, and at what step, often makes these claims much trickier than allegations against a single private clinic or small hospital.

Discovery challenges: accessing information

Getting the right records from large health networks isn’t always easy. You and your lawyer may need to obtain internal policies, email communications, or staff meeting notes to get a clear picture of how the system failed its patients. These types of facilities strongly defend their documents behind privacy rules, and patients can expect the hospital’s legal team to resist broad requests.

The value of expert witnesses and legal guidance

Medical malpractice cases involving major hospital networks always need experts – usually other doctors – to explain complicated issues to judges or juries. An attorney with experience in healthcare claims has the resources to identify appropriate expert witnesses and obtain the evidence needed to fight against these large corporations.

If you’ve been injured because of a healthcare professional’s negligence, reaching out for legal guidance is one of the most important things you can do. Our team has helped families across Washington secure results when they are injured through no fault of their own, recovering more than $100 million for clients. Call Smith McBroom Injury and Accident Lawyers today or fill out our online contact form to schedule a free consultation with a medical malpractice lawyer.