26 Dec The Different Types of Medical Negligence You Should Know About
Medical negligence involves injuries and harm resulting from failure to meet accepted standards of medical accord.
This seems to be a particularly concerning issue in Pennsylvania. Victims often have to deal with numerous losses. In some severe cases, they may even lose their life.
If you suffer from the consequences of medical errors, a medical malpractice attorney in Pittsburgh will help you obtain compensation for everything you had to go through. This legal professional can help you understand your rights and will stand by your side until you have won fair compensation for your losses.
The sections below talk about the different types of medical negligence a Pennsylvanian may sustain.
- Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis
Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis occur when a healthcare provider fails to identify correctly or delays identifying a medical condition. Errors of this type can cause improper treatments or worsening of the existing condition.
If a medical professional misdiagnoses a heart attack, they can let the condition progress or get worse and risk further severe damage or death.
- Surgical Errors
Surgical errors are those incidents in which a mistake happens during a procedure and causes harm to the patient. They are defined as performing a surgery on the wrong body part, leaving surgical tools in the patient’s body, or damaging nerves during the procedure.
Surgical errors are often caused by neglect, unawareness, or lack of communication. These mistakes can lead to long-term physical pain, further surgeries, and even death or permanent disability.
- Medication Errors
A medication error occurs when the wrong medication is prescribed or incorrect dosage is administered. They occur due to miscommunication between doctors and pharmacists or a lack of careful oversight.
For example, a drug interacting negatively with another medication, resulting in a serious physical reaction.
- Birth Injuries
Medical negligence during labor and delivery is known as birth injuries. Improper handling, lack of timely intervention, or poor monitoring of the baby’s well-being can cause these injuries.
For example, failure to notice fetal distress may result in brain damage due to lack of oxygen.
Another example would be the improper use of forceps, which leads to physical injuries. The child usually develops long-term disability as a result of birth injuries.
- Anesthesia Errors
Healthcare professionals can give too much or too little anesthesia without taking a patient’s medical history into account. They may also skimp on monitoring during surgery. Errors such as these are very serious and can result in brain damage, heart failure, or death.
Anesthesia mistakes have serious, sometimes irreversible effects on the patient’s health and thus should be promptly corrected.
The Negligence of the Healthcare Facility
Negligence happens when the medical facility does not uphold proper standards of care, and as a result, the patient is harmed. This may involve poor hygiene, like not cleaning surgical instruments well enough, having too few people on staff, or care errors with a patient.
One example is that hospital patients acquire preventable infections such as MRSA due to poor infection control practices. The responsibility for a safe environment for patients and staff belongs to the healthcare facility.
Conclusion
Poor or risky care, including misdiagnosis and surgery disarray, can occur in multiple forms, and the impact might be devastating. If you or someone you care about has been injured due to medical errors, it is important to talk to a medical malpractice attorney. An experienced lawyer can help you understand your legal rights, get strong evidence, and secure compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Holding negligent healthcare providers accountable quickly makes a huge difference in preventing such errors in the future.
Editor’s note: Please remember that not all adverse outcomes are due to malpractice. All medical treatment involves some risk which must be weighed against the patient’s underlying conditions. Often multiple underlying conditions are occurring at the same time, which make outcomes more difficult to predict. If you think you may have experience malpractice, try to keep meticulous notes of the treatments you have received and the providers you have seen, as they occur.
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Last Updated on December 31, 2024 by Marie Benz MD FAAD