On behalf of Hastings Law Firm posted in Hospital Negligence on Wednesday, April 2, 2014.

If possible, most people generally try to avoid visiting or being admitted to a hospital. However, there are times when this is unavoidable, such as visiting a sick loved one or coming down with an illness that requires hospitalization. In Texas, whooping cough tends to peak about ever three to five years, which may land some in the hospital. However, hospital negligence might make it more difficult to be discharged than it was to be admitted.

Recently, the CDC released data that revealed that higher rated hospitals have death rates that are less than lower rated hospitals. Additionally, patients are also less likely to be readmitted or to come down with a nasty infection from the hospital. While this is fantastic news for more highly rated hospitals, some may wonder what this says about lower rated hospitals.

Typically, a lower rated hospital will have 45 more deaths than a more highly rated hospital for every 1,000 instances of a patient developing a surgery-related complication. Additionally, a nationwide study conducted by the CDC found that over 600,000 patients suffered from almost 722,000 hospital-related infections in 2011 alone. Of those, 75,000 patients succumbed to those hospital infections.

While most hope to be well taken care of in a hospital, that is sadly not always the case. Hospital negligence can manifest itself in many different ways, from hospital-related infections and complications to the death of a patient. Texas patients who have been injured due to the negligence of a hospital may face a longer recovery, extended pain and suffering and even additional medical bills. In some instances, a successfully litigated medical malpractice case can prove to be an essential tool for some patients’ recovery. While financial compensation cannot undo any physical harm caused, it can help a suffering patient to abate any related medical bills and can even provide a sense of justice and relief to the victim.

Source: kgwn.tv, “Is your hospital failing?”,  March 27, 2014