Medical malpractice is, unfortunately, a lot more common than most of us could ever imagine. Because patients trust and rely entirely on their healthcare practitioner’s medical expertise, finding yourself as the victim of medical malpractice can be understandably daunting, as your trust in the healthcare system is now questioned. If you have had a negative encounter with a healthcare practitioner, and you are not entirely sure if your case calls for a lawsuit, we have listed examples of the most common instances of medical malpractice.
Prescribed The Wrong Medication
Medical malpractice explanation covers a broad variety of instances, which include being prescribed the wrong medication. It can be devastating to be handed the wrong prescription medication by your trusted doctor. Unfortunately, there are countless cases of prescription errors worldwide, and patients have been reported to endure severe reactions due to such negligence. Whether you have been given the wrong medication, an incorrect dosage, or your doctor has not adequately explained the side effects and correct usage of the drugs prescribed, your experience is considered medical malpractice.
Incorrectly Diagnosed
An incorrect diagnosis or lack of diagnosis can be a terrible experience for a patient. What’s more, well over twelve million outpatients in the United States of America are victims of misdiagnosis every year. If you have been wrongly diagnosed, you will need a second opinion to confirm your medical condition before you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit with the help of a professional lawyer.
Surgical Mistakes
Unfortunately, surgical mistakes are extensive as a wide variety of errors can occur due to negligence on the operating table. However, suppose you believe you have experienced medical malpractice in the form of surgical mistakes. In that case, it is best to gather your evidence and hand it over to an experienced legal practitioner after obtaining a second opinion to strengthen your case. Surgical mistake examples include incorrect incision sites, leaving a foreign object in the body, or wrong surgical site, among others.
Child Birth Errors
Shockingly, about twenty percent of medical malpractice lawsuits are filed against OBGYN’s. These unfortunate instances include child fatalities at birth or shortly after as a result of negligence. Other examples can leave the mother and the child wrongly harmed during the birthing process. While complications often naturally occur during the process of childbirth, when the medical practitioner’s neglect results in direct harm to the mother or the child, you can file a lawsuit. Due to the sensitive nature of this instance of medical malpractice, pain and suffering or emotional distress damages are usually included in compensation claims.
Anesthesia Mistakes
We can all agree that the mere thought of waking up on the operating table while entirely unable to move or make a sound should be a scene secluded to horror movies. Unfortunately, anesthesia mistakes have left countless individuals awake on the operating table and unable to alert surgeons during the procedure. However, there are other instances of this category of medical error in which patients can be left in a coma or with other severe and long-term complications resulting from anesthesia negligence.
When filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, it is vital to rely on legal representation to strengthen your case. You may not be able to navigate a lawsuit on your own. When considering that emotional distress may be an impacting factor following your experience, legal representation is a wise decision to ensure you can recover your damages.
