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Other Medical Malpractice
Medical errors leading to injury occur in a variety of circumstances. Each situation is unique and must be thoroughly evaluated. Some of the more common areas where mistakes are made are: post surgical infections, nursing negligence, improper drug prescriptions, misdiagnosis, radiology failures, and physician failure to refer to a specialist.
Misdiagnosis
Any injury or condition can be misdiagnosed. However, in order to present a valid claim, the patient must be able to establish the error led to injury. Sadly, this kind of error frequently occurs with a failure to diagnose cancer. A delay in treating any cancer can greatly affect the likelihood of recovery, not to mention long term survival. Some cancers are more aggressive and faster growing, in which case a delay of only a few months can have a significant negative impact. The higher the stage of the cancer, the lower the cure rate. Cancers of more advanced stages have higher recurrence and mortality rates. In legal terms this is often referred to as an increased risk of harm.
In other cases, an error may occur which does not effect the prognosis. For example, if a doctor/radiologist failed to recognize a fracture, that could merely be a mistake. When such an injury is properly diagnosed two weeks later, without resultant harm to the patients’ likelihood of recovery, there is no basis for a claim.
Prescription Errors
If your doctor prescribes the wrong medicine, your body can react adversely. Sometimes, physicians fail to consider the possibility of harmful drug interactions. It’s also possible that a medication prescribed by a careless physician could have the opposite effect from that desired, and make the condition worse. This is known as contraindication.
Nursing Negligence
Nurses play a vital role in the patient’s health care, particularly in hospitals. The nurse is often responsible for carrying out the doctor’s orders and marking the chart accordingly. If the nurse fails to follow the doctor’s instructions to the letter, this can cause harm to the patient. In addition, if the nurse does not make appropriate notes on the chart, updating other caregivers on changes in the patient’s condition, this can also be a basis for malpractice.
Post Surgical Infections
It is not necessarily negligent to contract an infection during surgery. However, medical negligence occurs when the doctor fails to make a timely diagnosis of an infectious process. Intervention is required before severe damage is done. If intervention does not occur, malpractice may be in order. Chest and abdominal infections are particularly worrisome, requiring careful monitoring of signs and symptoms such as temperature, white blood cell count, presence of pus, and other factors. If these signs and symptoms are present and are not aggressively treated, infection can spread, possibly leading to permanent disability and even death.
Our firm handles a variety of medical malpractice claims, which cannot all be discussed in this web site. If you would like to discuss your legal options, contact us online or call us at (216) 685-9991 to set up a FREE consultation.
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