Medical centers are there to treat patients and ensure their full recovery. So, how stressful can it be for errors to happen during treatment that adversely affects your quality of life? What is even worse is when these errors are a result of negligence.
Doctors, nurses, and other medical practitioners can make errors that permanently injure their patients. When this happens and is as a result of negligence, it is known as medical malpractice.
In such a scenario, the patients suffer emotionally and physically for the mistakes of another person. The patient should seek the services of a medical malpractice lawyer to help them through the process of seeking compensation for the injuries sustained.
Unfortunately, not many patients know when to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Medical practitioners might try to hide their tracks by saying that the outcome was expected when, in the real sense, it was not. In this article, we look to enlighten the general public on common types of malpractices that are entitled to compensation.
- Misdiagnosis
Misdiagnosis is one of the most common medical malpractice lawsuits. Here, the doctor does the relevant examinations but fails to give a correct diagnosis. The doctor might say that the patient has no apparent illness or may wrongly diagnose the patient.
The reason why misdiagnosis is classified as medical malpractice is that it prevents the patient from getting the treatment that facilitates their recovery. Also, in cases of a wrong diagnosis, the patient is treated with the medication they do not need, which is dangerous to their health.
However, not all misdiagnosis falls under medical malpractice. It only happens when the medical practitioner fails to do what is required for a similar treatment, which results in injury. In such a case, a visit to Greenstein & Milbauer is imperative.
- Delayed Diagnosis
This is similar to misdiagnosis, but in this case, an accurate diagnosis is made later on. A lawsuit, in this case, is viable when the delay in diagnosis is proven to have made the condition worse because proper treatment was not given in time.
Just in the case of misdiagnosis, the patient has to prove that the medical practitioner examined them less competently as compared to other medics with patients suffering from the same condition.
- Failure to treat
There are times when the medic has an accurate diagnosis but fails to give the right treatment. This may constitute medical malpractice if the doctor was not diligent about giving the patient the required care.
- Surgical errors
Surgical errors are the most dangerous form of medical malpractice. They include performing incorrect or unnecessary surgeries, damage of organs during surgeries, incorrect administration of anesthesia, using non-sterile surgical equipment, leaving medical instruments in the patient, or sub-standard after-surgery care.
One problem with surgical malpractice is that a consent form was signed, acknowledging the possibility of death. Doctors can use it to prove it was not a case of malpractice. However, it does not mean that a surgeon can administer wrong doses of anesthesia and walk scot-free.
These are some of the common scenarios that may trigger medical malpractice lawsuits. Other forms of malpractice do not fit in either of the above categories. So, in case you suspect that your doctor was negligent in any way, talk to a malpractice attorney immediately.