Types of Medical Malpractice

There are many types of medical procedures that can result in medical malpractice. Birth injuries, medical errors and surgical mistakes, as illustrated below, are just to name a few. For more information on these areas, as well as other types of medical malpractice, contact a qualified attorney who is experienced in this area of law.

Birth Injury

Occasionally during the birth process, a baby may suffer a physical injury, known as a birth injury. Sometimes birth injuries are just natural circumstances of delivery, but there are also circumstances where brain damage or brain injuries occur due to mistakes made by doctors, hospitals or other medical professionals during the delivery process.

Some common types of birth injuries include skin irritations, temporary paralysis, fractured collar bones, fractured arms, Cerebral Palsy, brain damage, Erb's Palsy and Brachial Plexus Palsy. The most serious birth injuries involve damage to the infant's brain - causing brain damage, traumatic brain injury, seizures and mental retardation.

If your child or the child or a loved one has suffered a birth injury, you should promptly seek the counsel of an experienced medical malpractice attorney to determine if you have a valid legal claim. The emotional and psychological toll that a birth injury exacts on a family is enormous, and the financial costs can be overwhelming. Medical bills, lost wages, counseling, physical therapy and home care expenses can be endless. If a birth injury is determined to have been caused by the negligence of a member of a medical staff, a family may be entitled to recover compensation--including punitive damages and compensation for pain and suffering.

Surgical Mistakes

Surgical mistakes that cause injury may give rise to medical malpractice claims. Such errors can result in permanent disfigurement and complications due to post surgical infections.

Examples of surgical mistakes can include:

• Wrong-site surgery - operating in or on the wrong area of the body.
• Surgical instrument left in the body - retractors, sponges and surgical towels left in patients' bodies following surgery.
• Misdiagnosis issues, such as surgery unrelated to the patient's correct diagnosis.
• Wrong patient surgery.

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Medical Errors

Medical errors are often the result of medical negligence-that is, the patient was harmed because the health care provider failed to follow the accepted standards of practice of his or her profession.

Examples of medical errors can include:

• Failing to diagnose a tumor while reading an x-ray
• Puncturing a nearby organ or tissue during surgery
• Failing to order necessary and appropriate medical tests
• Failing to diagnose a condition in time to treat it properly
• Failing to refer a case to a medical specialist
• Prescribing incorrect medication
• Incorrect diagnosis that results in a failure to treat a medical condition
• Failing to properly administer anesthesia

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Failure to Diagnose Cancer

Failure to diagnose cancer occurs when a member or team of the medical community fails to detect a cancerous condition before serious or fatal consequences occur. In many instances, early detection of cancer is a key element to successful treatment. A missed diagnosis can make treating cancer much more difficult, and in some cases, render successful treatment impossible.

When the failure to diagnose cancer is due to the negligence of a medical provider - if the provider using a reasonable standard of care should have detected the problem sooner - a medical malpractice claim can be brought. Failure to diagnose cancer is often the result of:

• Failure to order chest x-ray, CT scan and MRI procedures.
• Failure to adequately evaluate the results of the above.
• Failure to recognize the symptoms that characterize cancer and diagnose it in time.

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Cancer Misdiagnosis

Sometimes medical professionals negligently misdiagnose a patient. Cancer misdiagnosis and the subsequent delay of medicinal treatment can have debilitating effects on a patient, and in some cases, can result in patient death.

Patients rely on medical professionals to provide knowledgeable information and competent diagnoses. Cancer misdiagnosis and/or the significant delay in diagnosing the disease can be grounds for a malpractice lawsuit. For further information, contact a medical malpractice attorney today.

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Physician and Doctor Negligence

Physician and doctor negligence is the leading cause of medical malpractice. There can be a variety of examples in which a patient is injured due to physician and doctor negligence - things such as a left leg being amputated instead of right leg, wrong kidney operation, wrong eye operation, or being treated for the flu when the medical condition requires far more attention.

Sometimes medical professionals negligently misdiagnose a patient. Misdiagnosis and delayed treatment of a medical condition can have debilitating effects on a patient, and in some cases, misdiagnosis can be fatal and can lead to death.

Another area of physician and doctor negligence involves medication and prescription errors. Unfortunately, patients are sometimes given the wrong prescription or dosage, with very serious, often deadly, results. Medication errors can happen for several reasons, such as the doctor's illegible handwriting, the pharmacist's drug dispensing error, the nurse giving the wrong medication or amount, or the doctor not asking all of the pertinent questions while examining the patient.

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Anesthesia Errors and Mistakes

When you go in to surgery, the last face you usually see is that of the anesthesiologist, who will regulate your consciousness throughout the medical procedure. When anesthesiologists make anesthesia errors and mistakes, the results can be catastrophic - including coma and death.

Most commonly, anesthesia errors and mistakes involve not the type, but the dose. If the dose is too little, the medication is ineffective. If the dose is too much, the medication may have side effects and other consequences. Also, if a patient is being administered more than one medication, it is the anesthesiologist's responsibility to monitor this application. A mix of the wrong medications can be fatal. Further, if an anesthesiologist is especially careless, he or she won't test for or ask about allergies, which can also lead to serious injury or death.

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