What Are the Most Common Medical Malpractice Areas?

When you go to a doctor, you trust them to take care of you because of their education and experience. Any time a healthcare practitioner neglects industry standards, it can lead to medical malpractice.

Medical malpractice is a broad term, as it can refer to misdiagnoses, childbirth injuries, and errors with prescription drugs.

What are some of the most common medical malpractice areas to be aware of when you go to visit your providers? Selingo Guagliardo is here to help you understand them.

Incorrect or Delayed Diagnoses

Misdiagnoses or delayed diagnoses are the most common types of medical malpractice. One study found that diagnostic errors were the largest contributors to medical malpractice claims. Shockingly, almost one-third of medical malpractice cases involved incorrect or deferred diagnoses.

A misdiagnosis can occur when a physician doesn't:

•             Seek additional information

•             Order further medical testing

•             Identify clinical symptoms

•             Send the patient to a specialist

Failure to Treat

When a medical practitioner takes on a patient, they must commit to providing the most comprehensive treatment they're capable of providing. If a physician neglects to administer the proper care, it can constitute negligence and malpractice.

For example, let's say a patient goes into a doctor's office with a urinary tract infection (UTI). If the physician dismisses the symptoms as excessive discharge and refuses to provide treatment, the patient may develop permanent kidney damage.

Failure to treat a condition can also take the following forms:

•             Letting a patient go home from the hospital too early.

•             Neglecting to provide thorough instructions for at-home care.

•             Not accounting for a patient's medical history when creating a treatment plan.

Sometimes, a physician's failure to treat can result from taking on too many patients and not offering them the individualized attention they need.

Whenever a physician fails to provide comprehensive care, a medical malpractice attorney can help you seek compensation. This compensation can take the form of compensatory, non-economic, and punitive damages.

Childbirth Injuries

The obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) and neonatal specialties are highly complex. Injuries that happen during pregnancy, childbirth, or postpartum can be detrimental to the mother and baby. Any doctor who practices in these fields must be highly knowledgeable and experienced.

Childbirth injuries can result from:

•             Administering sub-par prenatal care.

•             Removing the baby from the birth canal using excessive force.

•             Failing to identify fetal distress.

•             Failing to remove all of the placenta post-birth.

•             Mishandling a baby during or after birth.

•             Proceeding with vaginal delivery even if a C-section is necessary.

•             Not addressing a tangled umbilical cord properly.

Another instance of medical malpractice relating to childbirth can occur when a doctor fails to recognize birth defects while a mother is pregnant. For example, a physician who doesn't identify a diaphragmatic hernia in a fetus won't be able to perform the potentially life-saving surgery.

Procedural & Surgical Errors

If you're going in for an in-patient or out-patient procedure or surgery, there should be qualified medical professionals present to keep you out of harm's way. Patients of elective and emergency operations should experience the same level of care.

However, physicians may make surgical mistakes during an operation. For example, they can operate on the wrong body part or start working on the incorrect patient.

Some other mistakes that can happen during an operation include:

•             Failing to adhere to standard practices in the medical field before, during, and after a procedure.

•             Leaving medical devices, gauze, or tools inside a patient.

•             Administering too much or too little anesthesia.

These errors are most often caused by poor communication or a lack of proper training, and the physician responsible should be held accountable.

Prescription Drug Errors

We can't discuss the most common medical malpractice areas without covering prescription drug errors. While prescription drugs are supposed to help patients recover more efficiently, incorrect dosing can have detrimental side effects.

For example, a doctor may incorrectly prescribe a cholesterol medication to a patient with chronic kidney disease. This mistake can worsen the patient's condition and lead to severe complications.

Or, a physician may fail to identify the signs of addiction and continue to prescribe a patient too much of a medication.

When talking about what are the most common medical malpractice areas, prescription drug errors aren't always the most obvious. However, they can inflict detrimental consequences if left unaddressed.

Looking to File a Medical Malpractice Claim? Hire an Experienced Attorney

Now that you have a better understanding of what the most common medical malpractice areas are, initiating your claim should be your next step. Medical malpractice cases are difficult to deal with and require thorough analysis to achieve successful outcomes.

Don't try to represent yourself; you'll be much better off if you enlist the help of a Selingo Guagliardo medical malpractice lawyer in Kingston, PA. We will conduct a thorough initial consultation and help you proceed in the most productive way possible.

Get in touch today to let us start helping you to recover from this stressful period of your life.