Common Medical Malpractice Claims

Just because someone doesn’t get the results they are looking for, even if those results are bad, doesn’t mean that medical malpractice has occurred. It has to be proven that a doctor, medical facility, or nursing home provided below the standard of care services in order for them to be held liable.

For example, administering too much anesthesia, failure to do something deemed medically necessary, or performing a procedure improperly are all types of negligence. Surgery on the wrong part of the body, leaving objects inside the patient, errors in medication, and failing to correctly diagnose a potentially fatal illness are all considered to be medical malpractice.

Surgical Injuries

Surgical injuries occur when a patient has surgery on the wrong body part, undergoes an incorrect procedure, or even has surgery that was intended for another person. The Archives of Surgery documented that “wrong-site, wrong-procedure, wrong-patient errors”, which should never happen, occur about 2,700 times per year. Malpractice can also occur when a patient is not monitored properly or doesn’t receive proper care from medical personnel after undergoing surgery.

Medication Errors

A significant amount of injuries and deaths are caused every year simply by medication errors. Illegible handwriting abbreviations that are confusing are responsible for prescriptions being administered incorrectly, as well as drugs with similar names. Medical professionals not communicating with each other properly can also cause medication errors. Prescribing a medication that the doctor knows or should know would interact adversely with another medication their patient is already taking, can result in severe injury or death. Dangerous drugs can cause serious injury.

Failure to Diagnose or Treat Timely

Failing to accurately diagnose a condition or illness when there is still time to for it to be treated leads to many deaths that could be prevented every year. Some illnesses that are commonly misdiagnosed include heart attacks, appendicitis, strokes, cancer, and pulmonary embolisms cause by blood clots that could have been treated. These mistakes often occur because doctors don’t have enough time to spend with each patient to discuss their medical history and symptoms. Sometimes they are the result of a lack of communication between medical personnel.

Anesthesia Errors

Anesthesia is administered about 40 million times per year. Anesthesia allows doctors to perform lifesaving procedures; however, a doctor specializing in anesthesia (called an anesthesiologist) must be careful in administering the anesthesia and must monitor the patient and know the patient’s medical history throughout the procedure. In severe situations, brain injury, suffocation, paralysis, heart attacks, coma and even death can result from mistakes in dosage and monitoring. In stranger instances, patients can “wake up” during surgery due to improper dosage, and this can cause the patient to experience unnecessary pain and distress.

Labor and Delivery Injuries

Having a baby and going through the process of giving birth is an event that can be dangerous not only for the baby but also for the mother. Complications can quickly arise and medical personnel are responsible for monitoring the status of both the mother and the baby. If they don’t act quickly enough when an emergency occurs, or if they act carelessly, the baby can suffer permanent injuries including brain injury or cerebral palsy, which will affect it for the rest of its life. The mother’s life could also be in danger.

Emergency Room Malpractice

Emergency rooms in Florida hospitals can be understaffed, which can lead to disorganization, inefficiencies, and the tendency to make mistakes when they. The Journal of American Medical Association published a study that shows that almost half of all malpractice deaths are the result of ER (emergency room) mistakes. If you feel that your loved one has been injured by another’s negligence, contact our Tarpon Springs injury attorneys, today!

Visit us in one of our four convenient Florida office locations in Spring Hill, Tarpon Springs, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. If you are unable to come to us, one of our top-rated medical Tampa malpractice lawyers will come to you. We also work with clients in Trinity, Safety Harbor, Oldsmar, Westchase, Hudson, Elfers, Holiday, Bayonet Point, and New Port Richey, Florida.