Breach of contract common issue for medical practices

As an owner of a medical practice in Texas, you will likely have to enter into agreements with various vendors and suppliers to be able to get the equipment and supplies you need to run your business.

For example, let’s say you have entered into a contract with a medical device seller to provide you with defibrillators.

• As the receiver of the goods, you are expecting that the seller provides you with the correct quantity of defibrillators, that all defibrillators are working condition, and that all defibrillators arrive on time, in accordance with the terms of the contract.
• As the seller of the goods, the medical device seller is expecting that you pay for the correct amount owed for all defibrillators provided in a timely fashion, in accordance with the terms of the contract.

Ideally, you and the parties you are contracting with will both uphold their ends of the agreement to ensure that all parties get what they signed up for. However, that is not always the case. If a party fails to follow through with their part of the agreement, the contract has been breached.

Breach of contract may affect business

A breach of contract may occur in many ways and for many reasons. Using the example above, the following scenarios may occur:

• The seller is unable to acquire the number of defibrillators requested due to a supply shortage and only provides half of the defibrillators ordered.
• The seller fails to properly ship the defibrillators and multiple machines get broken before delivery.
• The seller fails to deliver the defibrillators by May 30, as specified by the agreement.
• The practice fails to make the first payment for the first shipment, so the seller refuses to send the rest until the amount is paid.

A health care law attorney specializing in business matters may be able help you and the other parties involved in the contract settle your dispute and come to an understanding that works for everyone. However, if that is not possible, your attorney may take your claim to court and fight to recover the damages you are owed for the other party’s breach of contract.