What are the 5 Most Common Medical Malpractice Claims?

According to the American Medical Association, more than a third of all doctors have had a medical malpractice lawsuit filed against them. The top five most common medical malpractice claims filed against healthcare professionals are as follows:

MISDIAGNOSIS AND DELAYED DIAGNOSIS

Misdiagnosis 

Healthcare providers often misdiagnose patients, which could lead to serious injury or death. One area of misdiagnosis that has gotten press lately is doctors’ frequent misdiagnosis of heart attacks in women. Because women experiencing heart attacks have symptoms that differ from men’s heart attack symptoms, doctors fail to recognize that a heart attack is indeed what the woman is suffering from. While men may often experience chest pain or numbness in their left arms when having a heart attack, women may experience nausea, stomach pain, or dizziness. Poorly-informed doctors misdiagnose women with menstrual cramps or indigestion rather than treating them urgently for the heart attacks they’re experiencing.

Delayed Diagnosis

There are many medical conditions that require prompt intervention by healthcare professionals. For example, a stroke is when blood supply to the brain is interrupted or reduced. This is an urgent medical issue and requires a timely diagnosis. When the healthcare professional recognizes the signs of stroke and acts quickly, they can help restore blood flow to the brain. Failure to do so will lead to oxygen deprivation in the brain, which can lead to brain damage, disability, and even death. If a healthcare professional delays diagnosis of stroke and/or fails to act urgently, thereby delaying or withholding lifesaving treatment and disability-preventing treatment, they could be held liable for medical malpractice.

Misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses can result in serious injury or death and, in those cases, the patient or their loved ones should consult a Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney immediately.

SURGICAL ERRORS 

Surgeons are responsible for doing exactly what they stipulate to and nothing more and nothing less. Perhaps they damage a nerve, operate on the wrong body part, leave a piece of surgical equipment (eg, gauze or scalpel) inside the body cavity, or they damage an organ. All of these mistakes support a medical malpractice action, as does any negligence by the anesthesiologist in the administration of the anesthesia. Your medical malpractice lawyer in Philadelphia can evaluate the actions and inactions of the surgical team who rendered you care and determine whether they committed medical malpractice. 

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ERRORS

While prescription drugs can promote healing, ease pain, calm nerves, balance out blood levels, lower dangerous cholesterol, regulate heart functions, etc., they can also cause serious harm and even death, if not prescribed appropriately. Prescription drug errors include prescribing the wrong medication, prescribing the wrong dosage of medication, failure to warn a patient of serious side effects, and not taking into account the patient’s medical history and current drug use. Your Scranton medical malpractice lawyer can help determine whether your doctor made an error while prescribing drugs. 

FAILURE TO PROPERLY TREAT

A doctor commits medical negligence when they fail to provide the appropriate treatment to their patient. Perhaps the doctor fails to administer emergency care to a patient suffering from a stroke. Perhaps the doctor ignores certain symptoms and orders the wrong kind of surgery for the patient. Perhaps the doctor misreads an x-ray. In all of these cases, the healthcare provider failed to properly treat their patient. Contact your medical malpractice attorney in Pennsylvania if you suspect your doctor committed medical negligence during their treatment of you. 

BIRTH INJURIES

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about seven in 1,000 children will suffer from a birth injury. A birth injury refers to damage caused to a baby shortly before, during, or after their birth. Birth injuries can result in permanent damage to the baby that will last into childhood and adulthood. Common birth injuries include bone fracture, cerebral palsy, brachial plexus, vacuum extraction complications, brain damage, and encephalopathy. Your Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer can help evaluate whether your child’s birth injuries are related to a healthcare provider’s negligence or medical malpractice.

The above are the most common and frequent claims of medical malpractice. If you believe you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to the negligence of a healthcare provider, contact the medical malpractice attorneys at VSCP Law – www.vscplaw.com