5 Examples of Medical Errors that Could Result in a Malpractice Suit

If you go to a doctor’s office or hospital to receive medical care, you expect them to help improve your health, not make it worse. Doctor’s are obligated to make the right decisions using experience, best practices, training, and hospital policies. If you suspect that a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional was negligent in the care they provided to you or a loved one, you may have a strong malpractice suit. While every case is unique, the following are some of the most common errors and mistakes that can result in a lawsuit. 

Medication Errors

Medications are administered or prescribed to patients in virtually every visit to the hospital. In most cases, the medications will help you to recover or heal more quickly. If a doctor prescribes the wrong medication, or the wrong dosage, however, it can cause serious harm. It is estimated that errors related to medications are made over a million times each year, with many of those mistakes causing serious damage.

 Issues Related to Childbirth

Having a child is supposed to be a joy filled occasion. Most people put in a lot of effort to make sure that they are in a hospital when it is time for the baby to come to ensure they get the care they need. If the medical professionals do not provide the proper care through the childbirth process, however, the results can be devastating. There are many different issues that can impact either the mother or the child, which can cause lifelong problems if the doctor does not address them correctly. 

Errors with Anesthesia

The advancements in anesthesia have made it possible for doctors to perform incredible surgeries with far fewer risks than would have been possible in the past. Administering anesthesia properly, however, requires a lot of research and precision dosing. If the anesthesiologist gives too much, it can result in brain damage. If they give to little, the patient could wake up during the surgery, which could be devastating. They could also give an anesthetic that the patient is allergic to, which can cause serious problems.

Surgical Errors

The types of surgeries that can be performed today are nothing short of miraculous. While there are always some risks with any surgery, the danger should never come from an avoidable mistake made by the medical team. Sadly, there are many examples where a surgeon performs the wrong procedure, removes the wrong body parts, or otherwise causes serious damage due to negligence. Hospitals must have policies in place to prevent this type of mistake, which is why it is so serious when it does happen.

Delayed or Missed Diagnosis

One of the most common issues that can result in a malpractice case is going to be with the delayed or missed diagnosis of some type of condition. This type of negligence is often more difficult to spot than something like a surgical error because the average person does not know what type of diagnoses should have been apparent. If you feel like the medical professionals who were working on your case caused a delay in your care or were unable to figure out what was causing your problems, it is a good idea to have your case looked at by an expert.

Request a Free Consultation

Medical malpractice cases are often missed by people because they really do not know whether the problems they faced were due to negligence or if they were unavoidable. This is why it is important to speak with an experienced attorney whenever something doesn’t seem right to you. Contact us to schedule a free consultation where we can go over the details of the care you received. Based on that consultation, we can let you know whether you have a strong malpractice case or not so you can decide how to best proceed.