Medical malpractice is a severe problem that can end up negatively affecting any patient. It is vital to understand some of the most common types of medical malpractice out there so that you know what you need to do in the event you find yourself in such a situation.
For starters, it’s always a good idea to seek the advice of experienced medical malpractice lawyers if you intend to file any legal claim.
Medical malpractice happens when your healthcare provider acts negligently, leading to injury or harm. This negligence can take several different forms. In the United States, medical malpractice is an ongoing and big problem, one that’s overlooked more than it should. Here are some of the most common types of medical malpractice you should be aware of.
Misdiagnosis
This is a very common type of medical malpractice. Misdiagnosis happens when the healthcare provider doesn’t recognize the issues or conditions afflicting their patient. This can result in numerous medical issues down the road. For example, the condition of the patient is progressing to something that has complex treatment methods due to misdiagnosing it.
In some instances, making inaccurate medical diagnoses can prove deadly. Why? Because timing can sometimes be critical for certain medical treatments. If you miss a treatment window because you got a wrong diagnosis, the issue might become something you can’t treat, causing severe complications or even death.
Failure to Treat
Unlike an inaccurate diagnosis, failing to treat a patient happens when a doctor correctly diagnoses them but doesn’t follow through with the requisite treatment. This may include the premature discharge of a patient, not offering the required standard of care, or not performing the correct follow-up protocols.
All the above may constitute malpractice. To prove that your healthcare provider didn’t treat you as they should have, you should have the ability to prove that they did not show a duty of standard care when it came to treating your ailments.
Delayed Diagnosis
Delayed diagnosis is similar to misdiagnosis in the sense that if your healthcare provider takes a long time to determine what’s ailing you, then you may end up in a position where you’re too late to rectify the problem. In situations involving delayed diagnosis, your healthcare provider might make a misdiagnosis first or just find it hard to come up with one at all.
If the healthcare professional isn’t able to come up with a proper medical diagnosis within a decent period of time, the patient’s complications might get worse. If you want to prove this in your legal claim, you need to show that the medical assessment from the doctor wasn’t competent enough and could have been a lot better.
Prescription Drugs Errors
Errors in your prescription drugs or medications typically go hand-in-hand with inaccurate diagnoses. Although, that’s not always the case. Sometimes the wrong medical prescription is filled or sometimes the wrong one is ordered, leading to a patient taking what they’re not supposed to.
Errors in prescription medication can lead to the patient experiencing adverse side effects, more so if they conflict with other medications that the patient is taking. If you want to prove medical malpractice because of this, you must prove that the medication was negligently prescribed to you.
Birth Injuries
Many medical malpractice legal claims are brought for birth injuries, like
- Cephalohematoma
- Cerebral palsy
- Spinal cord injuries
- Nerve damage
- Shoulder dystocia
Such claims are typically filed against OB/GYNs. The injuries highlighted above can arise due to medical mistakes made by the doctor and can therefore be avoided. If you can prove that the doctor could have helped prevent them from occurring, then you’ve got a legal claim on your hands.
