Types of Healthcare Mistakes for Medical Malpractice Claims

If a patient suffers harm after a doctor or nurse fails to provide ‘standard’ medical care and treatment, the person has a solid case for medical malpractice claims. To err is human! However, medical professionals commit mistakes in only a few cases. Within the fraction of cases handled by them, certain mistakes are more common than other types. Go through the blog to learn more about the mistakes that make the ground for a lion’s share of medical malpractice cases.

Misdiagnosis & Delayed Diagnosis

Misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis results in a bulk of medical malpractice complaints. When a learned medical professional fails to diagnose a condition, the patient might not be able to avail treatment opportunities in time, which could have prevented severe harm and even death.

The key to establish a medical malpractice case based on delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis to compare what other qualified physicians within the same facility and specialty would have done and what the treating physician did. If a reasonably qualified, experienced and competent physician under the same conditions would have made the correct diagnosis, the treating physician could be sued for medical malpractice.

Childbirth Injuries

Medical malpractice can cause several fatal injuries including fractured bones, damages to nerves controlling the hands and arms (erb’s and klumpke’s palsy) and brain injuries. However, apart from medical malpractice, there are other factors that might cause such injuries. An obstetrician’s negligence might cause severe injuries during childbirth, pregnancy and or even before.

Negligence in Prenatal Care: During pregnancy, even minor negligence in medical care and treatment could cause minor to major harm to fetus and/or even the mother.

Negligence During Childbirth: A physician’s negligence when an pregnant lady is giving birth to her baby could cause harm to the baby and/or mother.

Medication Errors

Medication mistakes harm a large population across the USA every year. According to a study in 2006, nearly 1.5 million of Americas fall prey to wrong medications and the number is warningly rising with every passing year.

There are two ways for medical errors to happen – From the Prescription and Wrong Drug Administration. For example, if a doctor fails to make the right diagnosis, wrong medication might harm you. Within a hospital setting, the right drug might be administered to the wrong patient.

The commonest medical errors often occur due to wrong dosage – either drug overdose or too little of the medicine. It might take place in the following ways:

• The doctor prescribes an incorrect dosage.
• There is nothing wrong with the prescribed dosage but the nurse fails to follow it.
• Equipment, used for drug administration, malfunctions and as a result, too much of the drug is administered over a brief period of time.

Anesthesia Errors

Anesthesia mistakes are more serious than surgical errors. Even a minor error can cause permanent damage, brain injuries or even death.

Surgical Errors

A surgeon’s negligence in the operation theatre might result in serious harm to a patient’s internal organs, the wrong body part being operated or even a surgical instrument left in the body) or the nursing staff’s negligence in providing post-op care might cause complications including serious infection.

Talk to a law firm handling medical malpractice claims in Miami, FL if your case has merits for medical malpractice claims.