Inebriated Medical Professionals Are A Danger To Patients
The experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Crandall & Pera Law hold medical care providers to a reasonable standard of care. There is no excuse for working while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. We have obtained numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts for medical error against many health care providers and are proud of the victories inside and outside of the courtroom.
Why Some Doctors Abuse Alcohol And Drugs
Doctors and nurses are susceptible to alcohol and drug abuse like everyone else.
According to the Mayo Clinic, doctors are not immune to alcohol dependency. Nearly 10 to 12 percent of doctors will develop an alcohol or drug abuse problem during the life of their medical career. Doctors have easy access to drugs that can affect their judgment and ability to treat patients. Being a physician is also very stressful, which may lead the health care provider to turn to substances to “take the edge off.”
Determining Fault
Doctors and nurses need to operate at full mental awareness in order to take a complete oral history, give a full physical exam, order the correct medical tests, make the right diagnosis and order the right treatment. Surgeries and other treatments require a doctor to be able to think and act with complete clarity and dexterity. An alcohol or drug-impaired doctor or nurse is not going to be able to do these things.
At Crandall & Pera Law, our medical malpractice lawyers work hand in hand with on-staff registered nurses to examine your case. We dig deep to discover:
- If there is a lack of judgment during the diagnosis stage that caused the doctor to make an incorrect diagnosis of the patient’s condition
- If important symptoms were missed or ignored
- If the lack of motor skills affected the doctor or nurse during any medical procedure, including surgery
- If the inebriated state caused the doctor to write the wrong prescription
- If the doctor or nurse forgot an important detail at any stage
Our lawyers will review who is liable when a drunk or high doctor or nurse caused a patient harm. The inebriated health care provider will be held accountable. But hospitals could also be held liable for the negligence of their employees. While many of the health care providers are employees, doctors are not normally employees of the hospital. How much control the hospital had over the doctor is a key issue in deciding if the doctor was an employee.
No Excuses | Holding Impaired Physicians Accountable
At Crandall & Pera Law, you always work with a skilled medical malpractice lawyer who fights on your behalf. Please call 855-444-6651 or fill out our contact form to reserve an appointment at one of our offices in Cleveland, Columbus or our other locations across Ohio.