Medical errors leading to injury occur in a variety of circumstances. Each situation is unique and must be thoroughly evaluated. Some of the more common areas are: post surgical infections, nursing negligence, improper drug prescriptions, misdiagnosis, radiology failures, and failure to refer to a specialist.

Misdiagnosis

Any injury or condition can be misdiagnosed, however, in order to present a valid claim the patient must be able to establish the error caused an injury. Often we see this with failure to diagnose cancer. A delay in treating any cancer can greatly effect the likelihood of recovery and long term survival. Some cancers are more aggressive and faster growing, in those cases a delay of only a few months can have a significant impact. The higher the stage of the cancer, the lower the cure rate. Cancers of more advanced stages have higher recurrence and mortality rates. In legal terms this is often referred to an increased risk of harm.

In other cases their may be an error that does not effect the prognosis. For example, if a doctor/radiologist failed to recognize a fracture that may be a mistake. But if it is properly diagnosed 2 weeks later, and no additional harm was caused then there is no basis for a claim.

Prescription Errors

If your doctor prescribes the wrong medicine your body can have an intense adverse reaction. Sometime a doctor will fail to consider what other medication a patient is taking. If certain drugs are taken in combination they can cause severe damage, and even death. Or the medication may be contraindicated, that is the drug will have the opposite affect from that desired, and make the condition worse.

Nursing Negligence

Nurses play a vital role in the patients health care, particularly in hospitals. The nurse is often responsible for carrying out the doctor’s orders and marking the chart. If nurse fail to follow the doctors instructions this can obviously harm the patient. In addition, if the nurse does not make appropriate notes on the chart this can also be a basis for malpractice.

Post Surgical Infections

It is not necessarily negligent to contract an infection during surgery. However, medical negligence occurs when the doctor fails to make a timely diagnosis of an infectious process and intervene before severe damage is done. Chest and abdominal infections are particularly worrisome. They require careful monitoring of the signs and symptoms of infection such as temperature, white blood cell count, presence of pus, and other factors. If these signs and symptoms are present and are not aggressively worked up, the infection can spread and can lead to a permanent disability and even death.

Our firm handles a variety medical malpractice claims, which cannot all be discussed in this web site. If you would like more information or to discuss your potential claim, call us at 1-800-7-LEGAL-7, or click here for a Free Case Evaluation.