For hundreds of years, people have traveled to a doctor’s office for medical advice. For much of that time, the physician was treated as a near God with his or her advice being followed, no matter how difficult it was for the family. With treatments changing as quickly as medical scientists could write papers, the situation has become more scrutinized, and with that scrutiny has come the discovery that some medical practitioners commit acts in the name of their profession that are either negligent or reckless to the extent it harms the patient. You know it as the terrifying concept of medical malpractice.
Key Categories of Malpractice
Not all malpractice actions are the same. Some are committed by dentists, surgeons, pharmacists, nurses, or many other medical care givers. Because of the different legal responsibility for the depth of knowledge, skill, and treatment each care giver is accountable for, the actions considered negligent, irresponsible, or reckless can vary as well. To find out if you have experienced a medical malpractice occurrence by one of your medical attendants, contact a personal injury lawyer.
Common Types of Malpractice
You may hear the term malpractice more often today than you did a few years ago because people are becoming more cognizant of medical errors, complications during surgery, and the reckless behavior of practitioners. Here are some of the more common of the many types of possible medical malpractice incidents you may come across:
1. Errors During Surgery
Doctors have operated on the wrong body parts and performed an operation while intoxicated. Nurses have left objects inside of patients during an operation. Anesthesiologists have forgotten to check drug levels, and patients have woken up during surgery. All are surgical errors.
2.Errors in Diagnosing
The story about someone being told they have cancer, but they really don’t have the deadly disease is true. Sadly, the other side of the tale has also occurred with a doctor ignoring signs of an ailment that eventually killed his or her patient. If you ever have an unsettling diagnosis, get a second opinion.
3. Errors in Birthing
Not as common as it once was, birth injuries do still occur too often during labor or delivery. Performing a C-section too late to save the baby, ignoring a baby’s stressed vital signs, and inappropriate use of forceps can all lead to harm of the birth mother or baby that can lead to life-long injuries or death.
4. Errors in Medication
When you visit a medical care practitioner, you trust they will prescribe or administer the proper dosage and correct drug to you. Sometimes the shot or prescription given contains the wrong medication or the wrong dosage. There have also been cases where people die from a known allergic reaction that is ignored, such as peanut oil or eggs in a cross-reactive formulation of a drug.
Medical malpractice is a complicated issue and should always be dealt with by a qualified attorney. Because of the complex problems and the often-convoluted nature of the medical pyramid, the fight for compensation can be a long one, but any time you visit a doctor, you deserve the high standard of care the law requires.
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