Five Most Common Causes of Medical Malpractice
People expect to receive outstanding care from their medical professionals. While many medical professionals manage to provide patients with accepted medical care, there is always a risk that medical malpractice can occur. In some situations, medical malpractice can result in the serious injury or death of individuals. This article will review five of the most common causes of medical malpractice.
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Cause #1: Misdiagnosis and Failure to Diagnose
Statistics reveal that in the United States, approximately 12 million individuals are misdiagnosed in outpatient settings each year. Without an adequate diagnosis, it is impossible for even the best medical professional to adequately treat a patient. A large number of these claims occur because diseases are difficult to identify. Some of the most commonly misdiagnosed illnesses include cancers, heart diseases, infections, and tumors.
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Cause #2: Prescription Errors
Prescription drug errors occur when a patient receives the wrong medication, the wrong dosage of the correct medication, or is not fully informed about the side effects of medication. These types of errors can be made by drug manufacturers, pharmacists, and physicians. One of the causes of these errors is when medical professionals fail to review a patient’s medical history or prescribe a patient the wrong medication. Sometimes, in hospitals, medical professionals are also known to give one patient the medication that was prescribed for another patient.
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Cause #3: Childbirth Errors
Statistics reveal that approximately 20% of all medical malpractice lawsuits are filed against cases involving the birth of a child. Both newborn children and their mothers can be harmed by these types of errors. These errors are frequently grouped as either malpractice during prenatal care or malpractice during childbirth. Some type of prenatal malpractice include birth defects and failure to diagnose medical conditions that could pose a danger to the pregnancy or delivery. Malpractice during childbirth includes birth complications due to tangled umbilical cords, incompetent use of forceps, and ignoring signs of fetal distress.
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Cause #4: Surgical Errors
These errors can result in fatalities or serious injuries. Surgical errors can include a variety of complications including foreign objects that are left inside a patient’s body, incorrect incisions sites, poor communication between surgery staff, poor planning before the surgery, and uncontrolled bleeding. Even though hospitals and medical centers take precautions to prevent these types of accidents, these events are still known to occur.
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Cause #5: Anesthesia Errors
Anesthesia has the potential to result in the death of patients if not properly administered. In a large number of cases, an anesthesiologist fails to properly read and process a patient’s medical history and then prescribes the wrong anesthesia. In other cases, anesthesiologists are known to administer too little or too much anesthesia or improperly interpret a patient’s vital signs. Other times, anesthesiologists use defective equipment.
Contact a Knowledgeable Medical Malpractice Attorney
When medical malpractice occurs, it can help to obtain the assistance of a seasoned attorney who will fight for the compensation that you deserve. Contact Ferrara & Gable today for the results that you need.