Medical Malpractice Types
No one likes to think about their healthcare professionals making mistakes, but unfortunately, doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners do make errors. Medical malpractice is defined as a legal cause or action that occurs when a medical professional deviates from standards through negligence or omission that causes a patient to suffer an injury. It’s a long definition, but it basically means that the provider had to fail to meet the medical standard of care and caused harm to the patient for you to have a malpractice case. Here are five common medical errors that could lead to a medical practice claim.
Failure to Diagnose or Misdiagnosis
An incorrect diagnosis can often lead to tragic consequences. If a doctor fails to make an accurate diagnosis of cancer or doesn’t recognize a heart attack, these conditions could get much worse. Making an incorrect diagnosis could make you sick if you take medicine for a diagnosis you don’t have or don’t take medicine to help the true diagnosis.
Birth Injuries
Many malpractice claims revolve around injuries in childbirth, either to the mom or to the child. It can be difficult to show that a medical provider deviated from the standard of care to show malpractice, but if your child has permanent injuries, it is important to try. In these cases it may be beneficial to contact a medical malpractice lawyer Chicago, IL from a firm like Disparti Law Group. These types of lawyers have the knowledge and experience to assist in birth injury and medical malpractice cases. While the injury won’t be able to be reversed there is a chance that justice can be served through holding the guilty party accountable as well as receiving compensation.
Prescription Drug Errors
Doctors make mistakes in prescribing medications. Pharmacists can make mistakes in administering medications. Nurses make mistakes. There might be interactions between drugs that can cause harm. Prescription drug errors are more common than many people think. Whether it rises to medical malpractice is another question that may need professional knowledge from a lawyer or medical professional.
Surgical Errors
Hospitals have put a lot of protocols in place to avoid surgical errors, but they still occur to a variety of different people, unfortunately. A surgeon could operate on the wrong body part or area of the body. The surgical team could leave a sponge or instrument in the incision site. Anesthesia errors are also somewhat common during surgery.
Defective Medical Equipment
When medical equipment fails, it can be devastating. Medical devices do not always operate as they should. In this type of case, you may have a claim against the manufacturer, distributor, or healthcare provider who prescribed the device. Sorting out which party is liable can be complicated.
Medical malpractice claims have many elements. To prove each part of your claim, you will need experts and legal acumen. Talk to a medical malpractice lawyer about your situation to take the next steps to proving your claim to get the compensation you need to put your life back together.