Despite health being a secondary need, it is a vital necessity in life. It determines and contributes to our ability to enjoy life, and get things done. Therefore, when we fall sick, we seek medical treatment with the belief and conviction of receiving proper medical care. We hand ourselves or loved ones to the hands of medical practitioners expecting to be well handled and brought back to normal health.
However, the same practitioners can cause errors that can inflict serious injury or death. They may act out of negligence or completely go out of their duty of care to their patient, resulting in devastating consequences. These acts of negligence constitute medical malpractice.
If you or your loved one becomes a victim of medical malpractice, you should consult a Miami medical malpractice lawyer. A good attorney will help you in filing a medical malpractice lawsuit and help you get compensation for your damages (physical, emotional and financial suffering).
There are several types of medical malpractice. Knowing about these types of errors encompassed in medical malpractice will help you to determine if you have a case to present in court or not.
1. Misdiagnosis
This has been found to be the most common type of physician error or malpractice. There are two types of misdiagnosis: missed diagnosis and delayed diagnosis. When a medical practitioner misses or delays to diagnose a condition, the resulting consequences may be life-threatening or fatal. This is because the doctor will have wasted time treating the wrong condition.
Some of the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions or diseases include
- Infections
- Heart attack
- Pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs)
- Heart disease
- Tumors and masses in the body
2. Prescription drug errors
Medication errors may result from the administration of the wrong dosage of medication or administration of the wrong medication. It also includes prescribing a combination of medications which can be harmful to the patient.
3. Surgical Errors
These are common mistakes done by surgeons or anesthesiologists during surgery. Anesthesia errors are very dangerous and result in permanent brain damage, injury or even death. Common surgical errors include the following
- Puncturing of injuring a blood vessel or body organ
- Operating on the wrong body organ or part
- Leaving certain surgical equipment inside the patient’s body
- Operation on the wrong patient!
Anesthesia errors on the other hand include
- Failure to investigate the medical history of the patient to determine the existence or history of any complication
- Failure of notifying the patient of important pre or post-surgery procedure such as the type of food not to eat before the procedure
- Administration of improper amounts of anesthesia
- Using defective equipment
- Failing to monitor critical and vital signs of a patient
- Wrong intubation- the act of not putting a tube in the trachea properly to help the patient in breathing
4. Obstetric/ Gynecological Negligence (negligence affecting childbirth and pregnancy)
This is one of the most devastating forms of medical malpractice. This is because they usually affect one of the most joyful happy and exciting moment in parents’ life: childbirth. In fact, they are impossible to expect and a healthcare’s negligence and error can result in a catastrophic result, including death.
Example of errors affecting pregnancy and childbirth include:
- Caesarian section surgical negligence
- Negligence in carrying out prenatal care like diagnosing medical condition of the mother
- Failure to diagnose the mother’s diseases that may affect or infect the fetus
- Improperly using equipment like a vacuum extractor and forceps during the birth process
You should contact an attorney when you or your loved one are victims of medical malpractice.
