Common Forms of Medical Malpractice to Watch out For

Medical mistakes account for about 400,000 deaths every year. Thousands more are injured in ways that may change their lives forever. When the wrong leg is amputated, or a healthy kidney removed instead of the diseased one, it makes the national news. People sigh and assume it is an unusual occurrence. Unfortunately, there are certain types of medical errors that amount to medical malpractice that are more common than you would think.

Failure to Diagnose or Misdiagnose a Medical Condition or Disease

Almost everyone has heard a horror story of a person who was treated for chest pain in an emergency room and sent home with a diagnosis of indigestion. The failure to diagnose the real reason for the pain, a heart attack, results in the patient dying later at home.

There are many examples of women being told their breast lump is nothing to worry about when in fact they have cancer. On the other hand, some women have undergone chemotherapy or radical surgery only to discover they did not have breast cancer after all as it was only a benign cyst. These are just two types of many diagnostic errors that are made every day.

Medication Errors

Medication errors are, unfortunately, near the top of the list of common medical malpractice incidents. Some examples include:

• The doctor prescribes the wrong medication or the correct medicine in the wrong dosage.
• A nurse gives the wrong medicine or the wrong amount of the medicine.
• An intravenous pump often used to administer pain killers after surgery malfunctions and the patient gets too much of the drug.

Overview of Other Common Errors

There are many other mistakes that can result in serious or permanent injury to the patient. For example:

• Anesthesia errors can result in permanent brain damage if the patient is given the wrong dosage, experiences an improper intubation cutting off oxygen for an extended period of time or not taking an adequate patient history and administering medication to which the patient is allergic.
• Surgical errors occur such as leaving a sponge inside the patient, puncturing an organ or severing an artery.
• Birth injuries are common due to inadequate fetal monitoring during labor and delivery.

If you believe you may be suffering as a result of medical malpractice, either due to the negligence of a provider or hospital, contact Campbell & Associates. We provide a free consultation so we can review the facts of your specific case. The law requires you to bring a lawsuit within a certain period of time after the injury occurs, so call us as soon as possible. You do not want to be barred from receiving all the benefits to which you are legally entitled because you waited too long.