4 Types Of Medical Malpractice Cases
Types of Medical Malpractice Cases – Have you known a person who’s been through the wrong medical procedure? Individuals undergoing pain and related health issues expect a high level of care and treatment from medical professionals. However, these professionals can still make mistakes that can be life-threatening or fatal. Medical malpractice can be dangerous, and more than 250,000 people die each year due to such errors. Medical malpractice ranks behind cancer and heart disease as one of the leading causes of death in America. Error in diagnosis, treatment, aftercare, or health management can result in medical errors.
Furthermore, medical malpractice has damaging and long-term effects. And so, if you know that you are a victim of such negligence, then visit this site to search for a medical injury attorney to file a lawsuit against the liable party (i.e., the doctor, medical professional, or the health facility) who caused the error.
Here are the four types of malpractice cases that you should know:
Table of Contents
1. Medication Errors
Improper dosage of the right medicine, prescribing the wrong type of medication, or multiple uses of drugs that result in harmful interactions with one another are serious errors that patients can undergo. Failure to take note of the person’s medical history or age or failure to consider allergies when prescribing medication can also result in medical negligence.
Several factors result in these errors, including poor communication, careless perception of some risks, and lack of information concerning the patient. These can have dangerous consequences concerning a person’s health and result in permanent injuries or fatalities. Regardless of the type of error, it’s your right to get the proper dosage and medicine for your health issue, and if the doctor causes danger to your life, then a malpractice case is just ideal.
2. Surgical Mistakes
Even if surgical mistakes such as errors in breast surgery or laparoscopy aren’t the most common cause for malpractice, it’s the most notorious type of known negligence. People expect that the surgeon is a well-trained and capable professional when they undergo surgery. It’s a baffling idea to know that a surgeon can make errors.
There’s a possibility that a surgeon can operate or puncture an organ on an incorrect body part. There can also be times when the veins, muscles, or organs that a surgeon shouldn’t touch are lacerated. Patients also experience post-surgery problems due to surgical equipment left inside the body by a doctor. It’s also possible that there’s a poor procedure that caused danger and that the patient was left to his own by lack of instructions after surgery by the medical staff. These crucial errors can result in permanent damage, infection, and death. Eventually, all these mistakes can also lead to a lawsuit.
3. Misdiagnosis
The most significant number of malpractice complaints came from misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis. A patient can suffer severe repercussions and even death due to a failed or incorrect diagnosis that happened for an extended period.
Concerning misdiagnosis, there are 12 million people who are misdiagnosed in the US each year. Some misdiagnosis causes are accrediting the patient’s symptoms to another condition with the same symptoms, failure to read diagnostic images such as MRI or X-ray scans properly, failure to allow the patient to get the right specialist, and the doctor just being careless. Likewise, the most common misdiagnosed conditions are:
- Heart attacks
- Stroke
- Cancer
- Thyroid conditions
- Lyme disease
- Celiac disease
- Pulmonary embolism
At times, these types of conditions can be present in ways that a doctor wouldn’t understand unless they’re specifically seeking them. At such moments, a person can’t consider it malpractice. Malpractice only happens if a professional fails to figure things out when they have the proper training and much information exists.
4. Birth Injuries
There are many reports of claims concerning birth injuries in the US. Although there are some kinds of birth conditions caused by natural causes, some are an outcome of malpractice by a doctor. Damage to nerves, broken bones, and brain injuries are common childbirth injuries caused by medical negligence. A child’s disability and issues that can happen for an extended period can result from these injuries.
Childbirth injuries can occur if there’s:
- Failure to diagnose a medical issue in the mother (like Rh incompatibility, anemia, hypoglycemia, preeclampsia, or gestational diabetes)
- Failure to diagnose a disease that can be detrimental to the fetus (i.e., lupus, herpes, HIV)
- Failure to identify birth defects
- Failure to identify ectopic pregnancies
- Failure to order a cesarean section when it’s deemed suitable
- Using vacuum extractor or forceps the wrong way
Conclusion
People go to a medical professional to seek help and treatment concerning pain and other related health issues. Nevertheless, such medical professionals can still have errors that are sometimes dangerous and can affect a person’s life.
As medical malpractice is damaging and has long-lasting effects, filing a lawsuit can be helpful. This lawsuit will ensure that you’ll get the proper compensation for such negligence. Moreover, you also need to be aware of some types of medical malpractices that can happen; be mindful if it happened to you and get a lawyer.
Overall, some medical malpractice cases are medication errors, surgical mistakes, birth injuries, and misdiagnosis.