Medical negligence can leave patients with substantial financial losses, ongoing discomfort, and serious disabilities. Victims may also struggle with emotional trauma related to their injuries and altered quality of life. When such medical malpractice occurs, the patients impacted have the right to file claims to obtain compensation.
If you’re uncertain whether you’ve been a victim of medical malpractice, be sure to speak to an experienced malpractice lawyer. It’s important to file your claims as swiftly as possible, as delays can prevent you from pursuing damages. Most states cap the general statute of limitations for malpractice to two years.
Medical malpractice may fall into a number of different categories and can take many forms. Here are the most common types of medical malpractice you can seek compensation for:
1. Misdiagnosis
Doctors may sometimes fail to recognize and diagnose a medical condition when a competent medical professional would have spotted it. Such misdiagnosis may result in your condition progressing to an advanced stage, requiring more significant treatment and causing greater pain and suffering. Late or inaccurate diagnosis of serious conditions like cancer may even result in death. A plaintiff raising such claims would need to introduce expert testimony from a medical practitioner to explain why a competent doctor would have correctly diagnosed the condition sooner and correctly.
2. Medication Errors
Medical professionals can also be held accountable for errors in prescribing or providing medication. If the error happens during prescription, the doctor will probably be liable, but if the mistake happens during administration in a health care setting, the nurse and the hospital that employs them might be held liable. Prescription mistakes may sometimes be connected to misdiagnosis when a doctor prescribes medication for an incorrectly diagnosed condition. Other times, a doctor or nurse may prescribe the wrong dosage of medication, or they may give medication meant for one patient to a different patient.
3. Surgical and Anesthesia Errors
Some of the most obvious incidents of medical malpractice happen during surgical procedures. Some surgical errors are referred to as “never events,” meaning that the medical profession recognizes that these errors should never happen. In such cases, a patient may not need expert testimony because the negligence is obvious. A good example of a never event is when a surgeon leaves surgical instruments or materials in the patient’s body. A surgeon may also operate on the wrong patient or the wrong body part.
Mistakes by an anesthesiologist can cause devastating consequences, such as brain injuries and death. In instances of malpractice, an anesthesiologist may fail to correctly review a patient’s records for potential risk factors or fail to provide the patient with appropriate instructions before the procedure. Giving the wrong amount of anesthesia or failing to monitor the patient’s critical response while administering anesthesia also amounts to medical malpractice.
4. Birth Injuries
Obstetricians, gynecologists, and other medical professionals involved in childbirth can cause lifelong harm to a newborn by failing to meet professional standards of care. Common conditions that can result from medical malpractice during birth include cerebral palsy, paralysis, developmental disorders, nerve damage, and fractures.
Sometimes inadequate care or treatment prior to childbirth may cause harm to the mother and the baby. In other instances, birth injuries may arise from mistakes during the delivery process. For example, a physician might fail to call for a cesarean section when it is necessary or fail to properly use equipment such as forceps.
5. Defective Medical Devices
Some medical malpractice cases involve defective medical equipment that caused serious injuries or even death. For example, a patient might suffer organ perforations from improperly designed medical devices. Other times, the patient’s condition might worsen if a defective device doesn’t provide the benefits promised.
Working With a Malpractice Lawyer
If you have suffered serious injuries while under the care of a medical professional, you should consult a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. A lawyer with experience in medical malpractice can carefully assess your case and collaborate with a medical expert to determine whether malpractice might have occurred. If it has, they can help you seek the compensation you deserve.