Going to the doctor is something a patient does to either prevent a health crisis in the future (i.e. detect any cancer or disease and begin treatment immediately) or to treat a current health condition (i.e. seek treatment for a back injury, pregnancy, etc.). In either case, patients approach their doctors hoping to be helped–not hurt–and often put full trust in their doctors to do what is best for them.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t always play out like this. Medical malpractice, or the failure of a physician to properly execute the duty of care owed to a patient, harms hundreds every year. Here are some of the most common examples of malpractice that occur in Miami–
Failure to Diagnose
One of the most common reasons that patients file medical malpractice suits is a result of a physician’s failure to diagnose a medical condition, typically resulting in that condition’s worsening or proliferation. In fact, a 2015 Medscape Malpractice Report shows that 31 percent of medical malpractice lawsuits that year were filed as a result of a delayed or missed diagnosis.
Surgical Errors
Another top cause of malpractice suits throughout the United States is committing a surgical error. Surgical errors can vary significantly in nature, and may include:
- Operating on the wrong patient or body part;
- Making an anesthesia error during the surgery;
- Leaving an object within the patient;
- Failure to take appropriate medical steps (like administering certain medications);
- Failure to monitor pre and post-surgery; and
- Failure to properly clean surgical area and tools, leading to infection.
Surgical errors can be some of the most serious types of medical errors, often resulting in the need for a second surgery, severe injury, or even death.
Medication Errors
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 50 percent of Americans have used at least one prescription drug in the past 30 days, and almost 25 percent have used more than one prescription drug. While prescription medications can be very helpful, and even life-saving at times, they can be dangerous, too. This danger increases when a medication error is made on the part of a medical professional, such as a prescription mix-up, failing to instruct the patient how to take the medication, a dosage error, or an administration error.
Treatment Errors
In the Medscape report cited above, 31 percent of medical malpractice lawsuits were also filed as a result of a patient suffering an “abnormal injury,” and 12 percent were filed for a physician’s failure to treat a patient. In some cases, these two causes of litigation may have overlapped, with errors in treatment being the nature of the lawsuit. Treatment errors may range from taking an unusual course in treatment, failing to interpret a patient’s lab results correctly, making a medication error, failing to refer the patient to a specialist, and more.
How Our Attorneys Can Help
Medical malpractice is very serious. When a physician’s negligence leads to patient harm, the physician should be held liable for the error. At the law offices of Dolan Dobrinsky Rosenblum Bluestein, LLP, our experienced Miami medical malpractice attorneys will review your case for free, and provide you with the accurate legal information you are looking for. If you decide to pursue a case, we will represent you every step of the way. Contact us today for more information.