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Hospital Negligence in Pennsylvania | Hourigan Kluger & Quinn

Learn how hospital negligence occurs and what system failures often lead to patient harm.

Hospitals are responsible for the negligence of employees and those held out as employees, but can also be held independently liable in certain cases. These are called corporate liability claims and involve allegations that a hospital failed to comply with certain non delegable duties owed directly to patients such as:


  1. the duty to select and retain only competent staff

  2. the duty to use reasonable care in the maintenance of safe and adequate facilities and equipment

  3. the duty to formulate, adopt and enforce reasonable policies to ensure quality care

  4. the duty to oversee all persons who practice within its walls


In addition to proving that a hospital violated one or more of these duties, a plaintiff must prove that the violation caused or contributed to their injury, and the testimony of an expert witness is usually required for the case to proceed.


Internal Links

• Medical malpractice cases

• Surgical error claims

• Misdiagnosis malpractice


Understanding Your Legal Rights After an Incident

Understanding your legal rights after hospital negligence is important because system-level errors can affect multiple stages of care.


You can review your options for more clarity.