GeneralMedical Malpractice: Most Common Fatal Medical Errors

When someone is visiting a doctor or the hospital, they place their lives in the hands of a “trusted” medical professional. Unfortunately, this trust can be breached by medical error resulting in devastating consequences. When a  health provider fails to offer the expected standard of care under the circumstances, their actions or inactions may substitute negligence.

If you have suffered medical malpractice-related injuries, you should consider talking to a medical malpractice lawyer for help with filing a claim.

Misdiagnosis

The most careful human beings can make errors at some point. Unfortunately, a doctor’s error can mean the difference between life and death. Medical malpractice presents in many forms, some of which you may not know constitute this offense.

Misdiagnosis ranks highest in the list of prevalent types of medical malpractice. Fortunately, most medical misdiagnosis errors involve minor illnesses that resolve within a short period without much damage. But when a patient has a severe condition, and the doctor fails to diagnose it correctly, they could recommend treatment that could harm the patient.

For example, say a patient is diagnosed with a type of cancer. They would have to go through expensive and physically painful treatment procedures that could sometimes involve the disfigurement of body parts. If it turns out that the diagnosis was not correct, the victim can file for damages suffered from the misdiagnosis.

Delayed Diagnosis and Medication Errors

“Misdiagnosis goes side by side with a delayed diagnosis,” says medical malpractice lawyer Russ Berkowitz. Besides the potential of exposing a patient to the wrong treatment, misdiagnosis in an earlier stage means that the real condition is diagnosed much later, allowing additional time to progress and cause more damage. This is especially critical for time-sensitive diseases like cancer that advance in stages with time.

A doctor can make a proper and timely diagnosis, but errors can occur in medication administration, resulting in medical malpractice. Medication errors may happen because of several reasons; doctor error when prescribing medication, for example, prescribing a higher than usual dosage, prescribing medication that the patient may be allergic to, and miscommunication between the doctor and personnel administering the medication like the nurse. Unfortunately, medication errors can result in devastating consequences, including death.

Faulty Devices

Doctors often depend on devices to diagnose and treat patients. Unfortunately, the instruments used are prone to error. Using a faulty device could mean the doctor will make a wrong diagnosis or fail to make a diagnosis.

At other times the devices used in treating patients can malfunction, resulting in harm to the patient. For instance, a doctor can fit a patient with a heart pacemaker to help them with their heart problem. A few weeks later, if the device failed to work as required prompting another surgery to correct the mistake. While liability for the damages may be with the faulty device maker, errors involving defective devices can also constitute medical malpractice.

Medical professionals are responsible for operating under protocols that put the risk of infection at a minimum. But even with the strictest sanitation protocols, MRSA can still appear. When a patient suffers an infection at the hospital that results in damages, they may be eligible for compensation under medical malpractice laws.

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