Most health care professionals care about the safety and well-being of their patients. However, physicians, surgeons, hospitals, and other health care providers can make serious errors that cause injury or death. Dealing with the physical and emotional repercussions of these injuries can be challenging and have a lifelong impact on victims. If you believe you or a loved one has been a victim of medical negligence, having a top medical malpractice attorney evaluate your case and help you understand common types of malpractice can help make things right for you and your family.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Before you consider filing a lawsuit against a health care professional or organization, it is important to understand what medical malpractice is. Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, hospital, health care system, or other health care professional causes an injury to a patient due to a negligent act or omission. However, just because a doctor made an error that may have caused an injury does not mean you automatically have a medical malpractice case that will be easy to win.
Types Of Medical Malpractice Claims
Medical malpractice cases are quite complex and require the knowledge and experience of a seasoned personal injury attorney who is familiar with what it takes to prove negligence and liability in these types of cases. There are countless situations in which someone may be injured due to negligence, but some common types of medical malpractice cases include:
Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose – When a doctor fails to correctly diagnose an illness or condition, the consequences can be deadly. Whether a physician fails to recognize a discernable illness or diagnoses a patient with a condition they do not have, it can result in a patient not receiving the treatment they need or a healthy patient getting unnecessary treatment that could be invasive or harmful. If you are misdiagnosed, malpractice would only be considered if a doctor failed to follow appropriate standards of care and you were harmed as a result.
Failure to Treat – In some cases, a doctor may fail to recommend adequate treatment for a condition. Failing to offer follow-up care after surgery, releasing a patient too soon, or neglecting to refer someone to a specialist when necessary are all examples of a failure to treat.
Birth Injuries – One of the most heartbreaking types of medical malpractice are birth injuries, which are often preventable and can happen in many different ways. Negligence may occur during childbirth or prenatal care and result in serious brain injury, nerve injuries, and other conditions that significantly affect a child’s quality of life and require costly long-term care.
Medical Product Liability – Thousands of patients are injured or killed each year due to faulty medical devices. If you’ve been hurt by a defective medical device, you may be able to pursue a product liability claim against the designer, manufacturer, and distributor of the device. In addition, a doctor or hospital may be liable in a medical malpractice claim if they failed to know the risk of harm before a device’s use or failed to warn a patient of the risk of harm.
If you believe you have been hurt by malpractice, contact a medical malpractice law firm today.
This blog was originally posted on https://www.pa4law.com/common-types-of-medical-malpractices-cases/
