4 Common Types of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when doctors and other medical professionals make mistakes that cause harm or injury to a patient. These injuries can occur in virtually any setting. Medical malpractice cases range vastly, resulting in substantial losses, worsened conditions, severe disabilities, and even death.
In this blog, you will learn about some of the common types of medical malpractice claims.
1. Birth Injuries
Welcoming new ones is a process that involves midwives, gynecologists, and obstetricians. These medical professionals should care for the expecting mother and the new infant during pregnancy and childbirth. But the delivery staff can be negligent and cause minor or severe injuries, such as fractures, brain injuries, developmental disorders, and partial or total paralysis.
Birth injuries can cause lifelong challenges and devastate a family. Common causes of birth injuries include lack of prenatal screening, failure to detect serious complications, and use of faulty equipment during delivery. Some doctors may also fail to diagnose or treat maternal infections that can affect the fetus, like HIV or herpes. In some cases, birth injuries can cause the death of the mother, child, or both.
2. Delayed Diagnosis or Misdiagnosis
Delayed or incorrect diagnosis is when a doctor fails to provide an accurate analysis of a condition or provides the analysis when it's too late. As a result, the patient misses treatment opportunities and the condition progresses to a more critical stage. The delay or lack of proper treatment increases the patient's suffering and pain and may result in lasting consequences.
Indeed, incorrect or delayed diagnosis can cause death, especially if the patient suffers from a serious disease, such as cancer.
A delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis might happen when a doctor fails to examine a patient's medical history and do the appropriate tests. The treating doctor may also make inaccurate interpretations of information in imaging scans and other test results.
To win the case, you have to show that a competent doctor would have arrived at a correct diagnosis in a similar situation. Your lawyer will also have to explain the impact of the delay or error on your health.
3. Surgical and Anesthesia Errors
Some of the most obvious medical malpractice incidents occur in the operating room and are so obvious that patients may not require expert testimony. Common examples of medical malpractice include leaving a surgical instrument inside the body, wrong site surgery, wrong procedure surgery, and post-operative care negligence.
Here are other types of surgical errors:
- Puncturing a blood vessel or organ during surgical procedures
- Performing unnecessary surgery
- Operating on the wrong patient
- Using unsterilized surgical equipment
Even minor anesthesia errors can result in devastating consequences, such as permanent injury or death. Anesthesia mistakes happen when the anesthesiologist doesn't review patient history beforehand or uses defective equipment.
4. Medication Errors
Nurses, doctors, and other healthcare providers can make mistakes when prescribing or offering medication. Incorrect medication or improper administration of correct medication can cause disability, permanent injury, and even death.
Doctors are usually the culprits when prescription errors occur, while nurses may be responsible for mistakes during administration. Another common mistake is when nurses provide medication to a patient that was for another patient.
The most common type of medication and prescription error is providing the wrong dosage to a patient. These errors happen if the staff members are overworked or too tired to do their job. Illegible writing and poor communication between healthcare professionals can also cause medication and prescription errors.
Medical malpractice can cause devastating and far-reaching injuries. If any of these scenarios has affected you or your loved one, you need the help of the local attorney. At Cardaro & Peek, LLC., we know how to assess medical malpractice and hold accountable healthcare providers who don't offer proper medical care. Contact us today for more information.
