The Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeals clarified the standard of care to be used in medical malpractice cases involving hospitals and their employees. In Crockham v. Thompson, the Second Circuit ruled that hospitals should be held to a national standard of care in actions for medical malpractice. The Second Circuit also found that hospitals are legally responsible for their employees’ negligence, including the negligence of doctors and nurses who are employees of the hospital.
In Louisiana, the Medical Malpractice Act governs patients’ claims for medical malpractice against private health care providers and their facilities. Under this law, a victim’s recovery from a “qualified healthcare provider,” a provider who pays into Louisiana’s Patient Compensation Fund, is capped at $500,000. If a healthcare provider does not contribute to this fund, then the provider does not receive the protection of this cap.
In medical malpractice litigation, a plaintiff bears the burden of proving her case in court. Specifically, a plaintiff must prove that her healthcare provider breached a standard of care. The plaintiff must further prove that this breach caused the injury in question. The standard of care analysis typically asks whether a medical provider exercised the level of skill and knowledge that is comparable to that exercised by members of the profession under similar conditions and circumstances.
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