5 Most Common Types of Medical Malpractice Cases

Medical Malpractice cases are the unfortunate result of physicians making avoidable errors during medical treatment and causing unnecessary suffering in their patients.

When someone becomes the victim of medical malpractice, he or she are often left with debilitating injuries and suffering that can last a lifetime.

In order to punish the doctor's responsible for these crucial errors and ease the suffering of the victims, patients are able to file personal injury lawsuits.

Here are the five most common types of medical malpractice incidents everyone should know.

5 Most Common Types of Medical Malpractice Cases

1. Surgical Errors

Personal Injury cases stemming from surgical errors can leave the victims with permanent physical damage or even cause death. Surgical Errors occur either when a physician or nurse makes an avoidable mistake while operating on a patient or during the patient’s recovery post-op.

Many of the common occurrences of surgical errors include damaging a nerve, leaving a foreign object such as a surgical tool in the patient, puncturing an organ, or failing to control the patients bleeding.

There have also been medical malpractice cases due to a surgeon operating the wrong body part, or on the wrong patient altogether.

If you or a loved one have been the victim of a surgical error, it is important that you speak with a personal injury attorney to understand what your legal options are.

2. Misdiagnosis

People entrust their health and well being in doctors, so when a doctor misdiagnosis or fails to diagnose a patients condition, a lawsuit may be necessary.

The negligence of the doctor can cause a patient to suffer or make their condition worsen. It could also lead to them taking unnecessary medications that could potentially damage their body.

In order to prove negligence in a misdiagnosis case, a personal injury attorney must prove that the doctor was negligent in their actions.

They must show what the doctor did incorrectly, and how it should have been done.

Once they have proven that, the attorney must then explain the process that the acting doctor should have taken, and that any other competent doctor would have taken under the same circumstances.

3. Childbirth Injuries

Childbirth injuries involve injuries sustained by the child or the mother during pregnancy or childbirth.

Many complications can occur because of a doctor’s negligence during childbirth including Brain Injuries, Broken Bones, and Nerve Damage.

Some of those injuries could also be due to negligence on the doctor’s behalf during the course of the pregnancy.

A doctor can be held accountable for failing to diagnose a medical condition in the mother that causes complications to the fetus.

A lawsuit can also come about as a result of not identifying the risk or possibility of birth defects in the infant.

During childbirth, there are further complications that could lead to a lawsuit, including:

• Unnoticed signs of fetal distress
• Ignoring or missing signs of common birth complications
• Failing to perform a cesarean section if it should have been
• Improperly using medical equipment during childbirth

4. Mistakes When Administering Anesthesia

Anesthesia mistakes made by medical professionals can result in brain damage, personal injury or even death.

It is the job of the anesthesiologist to admit the proper type and amount of sedatives to each patient under their care.

If they fail to do so, a medical malpractice lawsuit may be heading their way.

Some of the common incidents that are seen in these types of malpractice cases are:

• Giving the patient to much anesthesia
• Using malfunctioning equipment
• Failure to properly view the patients medical history
• Not informing the patient of the risks involved if they fail to follow their pre-op instructions.
• Failure to monitor the patient's vital signs

If any of these situations arise as a result of the negligence of an anesthesiologist, a Medical Malpractice Personal Injury Lawyer may be necessary.

5. Medication Errors

Medication errors are the result of a doctor either prescribing or administering a medication negligently.

If a patient is injured or suffers because a doctor prescribes the wrong medication or is treated for a misdiagnosed condition, they may have a claim.

Some of the other common forms of Medication Errors that patients need to be aware of are:

• Receiving an incorrect dosage amount
• Being administered the wrong medication
• The equipment used to give the patient the medication malfunctions, causing harm to the patient.
• Failure by the doctor to notice complications that can arise from the new medication mixing with the patient’s current medications.

Medical Malpractice covers a wide variety of incidents that happen to patients in the medical field.

If you believe that you or someone you love has been the victim of a physician’s medical malpractice or any other type of personal injury, protect your legal rights and contact our team of personal injury attorneys for a free consultation.