Medical malpractice claims can be complex, but there are some common types of situations in medical care that can help you understand if you should contact Needle & Ellenberg, P.A. about a possible claim. Here are five more predominant types of medical malpractice claims, with illustrative situations.
- Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis: A patient sees their primary care physician complaining of persistent chest pain and shortness of breath. The doctor attributes these symptoms to indigestion and fails to diagnose an underlying problem with the patient’s heart. The patient's condition worsens, leading to a heart attack that could have been prevented with timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment
- Surgical Errors: A surgeon performs a procedure on the wrong arm, leg or other body part because of a breakdown in communication or failure to read the patient’s records. For instance, a patient scheduled for a left knee replacement ends up having surgery on their right knee. This is just one example of a mistake involving surgery that can cause pain, disability, complications and additional surgeries.
- Medication Errors: A hospital dispenses a medication that has a name similar to the one prescribed, but it is not the right medication. The incorrect medication is given to the patient, leading to a bad reaction, complications, severe injury and disability. This could occur due to mistakes in making the order for the medication, filling the order or thinking that similar drugs can be substituted for one another. Accurate medication ordering, reconciling and dispensing are critical to good patient care.
- Birth Injuries: A baby suffers brain damage, cerebral palsy or other birth injuries because the healthcare team failed to carefully monitor the mother and baby for signs of distress during labor, resulting in oxygen deprivation, or the healthcare team uses inappropriate force and maneuvers when delivering the baby, resulting in nerve damage and paralysis to one or both arms. When the healthcare team—hospital, nurses, doctors, techs—fail to use care in the delivery of a baby, severe and life-altering injuries and damages can occur.
- Anesthesia Mistakes: A patient having surgery is given an incorrect amount and/or type of anesthesia drugs, leading to permanent injury or death. This can happen if the anesthesia care team chooses an incorrect drug or amount of drug or fails to carefully monitor the patient during surgery. Anesthesia care team mistakes can cause physical injuries, brain damage or death.
These are just some examples of how mistakes in providing healthcare can cause severe, permanent personal injuries to patients and have life-changing effects on the patient and the family. It is the providers’ duty to assure that the patient receives safe, high-quality healthcare, as the failure to do so can cause catastrophic injuries or death.
If you or a loved one believe you have been a victim of medical malpractice, contact Needle & Ellenberg, P.A., so we can hear what happened, determine if, in our opinion, you have a possible case, and then take you through the legal process of a medical malpractice claim to help you and your family seek compensation for the harm suffered.
