ANNOUNCER: I’m with John Nicholson from Cohen Highley Lawyers. In a medical malpractice suit, do you sue the doctor or the hospital?
JOHN: It depends on who appears to be at fault for an injury that has been suffered. If the injury was caused by a nurse, a technician, or any other person employed by the hospital, you would sue that person along with the hospital since the hospital as an employer is vicariously responsible for the conduct of those employees.
ANNOUNCER: You didn’t mention doctor.
JOHN: Doctors are treated differently because they are not employees of the hospital. They’re independent practitioners who are granted privileges to practice medicine at the hospital. If the injury you sustained was due to the fault of the doctor, you would sue the doctor directly, not the hospital. But in some cases, there is more than one person who has been negligent and contributed to an injury. In those cases, it may be necessary to sue multiple parties, including doctors, nurses and the hospital.
