Medical malpractice negatively affects many different people in the United States. It’s an unfortunate reality within the US healthcare system. Medical negligence and errors can result in severe, life-threatening complications for patients.
However, while not all mistakes lead to devastating consequences, they’re one of the leading causes of death in America.
When victims are faced with serious, life-threatening consequences because of medical malpractice, they’re usually left wondering what they need to do next in order to secure compensation for their damages. Medical malpractice attorneys can help victims legally bring claims against the people liable for their harm and injuries.
With that said, here are 5 instances where you can institute a medical malpractice case.
Misdiagnosis
Healthcare professionals in the United States sometimes misdiagnose their patients. In fact, it’s something that happens to be very common, unfortunately. It happens when the healthcare professional in question doesn’t recognize the ailment, problem, or condition their patient is battling with. This can then result in numerous medical complications down the road, some of which include the condition of the patient worsening when it could’ve been dealt with easily or incorrect medical prescriptions.
In some situations, where timing is paramount when it comes to treating the patient, an incorrect diagnosis of a patient can prove fatal. If a patient misses a treatment window because their doctor gave them the wrong diagnosis, the issue that the patient is dealing with might become untreatable, which could then lead to severe irreversible issues or even wrongful death.
Failure to Treat
This happens when your doctor neglects to offer the patient the proper treatment protocols or fails to refer them to the appropriate medical specialist when necessary. For instance, a general practitioner finds that their patient is battling with cardiac symptoms but fails to refer them to an experienced cardiologist, resulting in the patient’s heart problems going untreated or undiagnosed. This is valid ground for a medical malpractice case.
Prescription Drug Errors
Errors involving a patient’s prescription medications can result in anything from the patient experiencing a polite allergic reaction to losing their life altogether. Sometimes a doctor can prescribe the wrong medicine to a patient which, in turn, will cause them to take medicines that won’t help them.
Prescribing the wrong medication to patients can lead to them experiencing adverse side effects, especially when they take medicine that interacts negatively with other medications they may be on. If you want to prove malpractice because your healthcare provider prescribed the wrong drugs for your issue, you will need to demonstrate that the healthcare professional was acting negligently when prescribing your drugs.
Surgical Errors
The risks associated with surgical procedures and surgical errors are two very different things. Doctors or surgeons are required to inform their patients about the many risks that come with certain surgical procedures, and if the patient is unfortunate enough to be affected by any one of those aforementioned risks, then they can’t bring a claim for medical malpractice.
But, if it’s a surgical mistake or error they had to endure or something that shouldn’t have happened during the procedure, then the patient might have a valid claim on their hands.
Anesthesia Errors
Anesthesia is a very important part of almost all surgeries. It helps keep the patient from feeling any kind of pain. Errors made by the anesthesiologist on duty can end up causing life-long consequences, like brain injuries, intense pain, and even fatalities.
If the anesthesiologist fails to give the patient the right instructions in the aftermath of the procedure, then the patient in question may be able to file a medical malpractice claim.