Many hospitals are owned and operated by “hospital authorities” of a municipality like Douglas, GA in Coffee County Georgia which owns and operates Coffee Regional Medical Center. Often these hospital authorities own and operate these facilities through private corporations and are therefore not granted sovereign immunity from injury and wrongful death lawsuits for hospital acquired bed sores, falls causing fractures and head injuries, and other injuries and wrongful deaths resulting from medical malpractice or neglect. Operating as a private corporation waives what might otherwise serve to provide immunity to these health care providers, or waives the application of special notice rules for bringing a lawsuit or claim for injury or death against the hospital. See Thomas v. Hosp. Auth. of Clarke County, 264 Ga. 40 (1994). This analysis has nothing to do with a hospital or other medical facility like a nursing home being technically non-profit. Many hospitals operate as non-profits, but the operation does in fact produce large profits and compensation packages for executives can be very large. Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, GA is a non-profit hospital, for example. The Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority is an example of a Georgia hospital authority. When evaluating a claim or potential lawsuit for medical negligence against any health care provider, including a nursing home or hospital in Georgia, care must be taken to determine who the proper defendant entities are and whether any sovereign immunity might apply. In the past several years in my practice focusing on elder abuse and neglect case, I have seen what appears to be an increase in hospital bedsore (pressure ulcer, pressure injury) cases. These injuries can be very severe and life-threatening. They are often life-altering if not deadly, in some cases requiring months and months of continued treatment. Many times these sores simply will not heal, leaving the victim disabled for the rest of his or her life. If you feel you’ve been harmed by negligence in a hospital or nursing home, or any long term care facility in Georgia, contact Pleasant Law, PLLC for guidance. There is no charge for a case evaluation.
