Medical facility, surgery center, physical therapy clinic, rehabilitative care center and healthcare practice negligence

Medical facilities such as hospitals, surgery centers, physical therapy clinic, rehabilitative care centers, etc. have an affirmative legal duty to provide quality services to patients.  The obligations imposed upon such healthcare entities are various and a healthcare facility’s failure to mete-out its duties can give rise to liability in a number of ways.

A hospital, for instance, is responsible for the care its actual employees (such as nurses, technicians, hospital-employed doctors, etc.) provide to people seeking care.  Likewise, institutions (like hospitals, surgery centers and nursing homes) which enable physicians to practice at their facilities have an affirmative obligation regarding the credentialing of working healthcare providers.  In other words, a facility must conduct an adequate background check on a doctor and give due consideration to the risks he/she poses to patients before granting the doctor privileges to use the facility’s equipment and staff to perform procedures or render care.  Additionally, service-based healthcare businesses have a responsibility to provide properly functioning/suitable equipment and establish and follow proper policies and procedures to ensure the care provided and billed for is of value.

Organizations such as the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and the Georgia Department of Human Resources (GDHR) regulate certain aspects of healthcare provided by specific facilities in the state of Georgia.  Under O.C.G.A. §§ 51-1-27, 9-3-70 and 9-11-8, Georgia’s statutory law also imposes a general duty of care upon facilities which provide healthcare services to patients.

The Dow Firm, P.C. has a demonstrated history of success in vindicating claims against medical facilities for patient injuries.