Healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses and technicians have a responsibility to provide the best possible care to their patients. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. If a healthcare provider makes mistakes that have damaging effects on your health or the health of someone you love, you may have the right to pursue compensation from the healthcare provider in question via a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Some medical mistakes occur again and again within the healthcare profession. Here are just a few of the top medical mistakes that may result in justification for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
Some ailments are straightforward and, thus, easy to diagnose. Others, however, are not. A misdiagnosis can result in the doctor recommending the wrong medication and treatment plan. A delayed diagnosis, on the other hand, can lead to a worsened condition. In both scenarios, the patient can sustain serious and, at times, irreversible damage.
Medication errors
Medication errors often happen when a patient receives the wrong medication for the condition they are suffering from. They can also happen when the patient does not receive the right medication dosage. Medication errors are often caused by improper drug labeling, a misdiagnosis or communication breakdown between the medical teams attending to the patient.
Surgical errors
Several things can go wrong during a surgical procedure: the anesthetist can administer the wrong anaesthesia dosage, leaving the patient either under-euthanized or over-euthanized, there can be a communication breakdown leading to the wrong procedure or the patient may not receive the right care after surgery. All these missteps can lead to serious patient harm.
The long-term effects of medical malpractice can be very costly to the patient and their loved ones. When a healthcare provider breaches their duty of care leading to injuries, know that you deserve justice.