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Medical Malpractice

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Unexpected Outcomes Could Be the Result of Medical Malpractice: Learn How Our Lawyers Can Help You

We trust medical providers to heal us, not harm us. While most healthcare providers successfully treat patients, it is a sad truth that far too many do not. Not only do some healthcare providers fail to heal us, but some may leave us in a worse-off position than if we had not sought treatment from them in the first place. Some healthcare provider errors can even result in fatal injuries, causing wrongful death. While this sounds like an uncommon outcome, a study by John Hopkins Medicine found that preventable medical errors were the third-leading cause of death in the United States. This amounts to 10% of all U.S. deaths due to medical errors, more than accidents (car accidents, falls, construction, etc.), chronic lower respiratory diseases, strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and many other conditions.

Not only are medical errors resulting in wrongful death very high, but they can also result in debilitating and permanent injuries that are catastrophic. Some of these injuries can include the following:

  • Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
  • Spinal cord injuries (SCIs)
  • Torn muscles, tendons, or ligaments
  • Infections and Sepsis
  • Paralysis like paraplegia or quadriplegia
  • Burn injuries
  • Nerve injuries and damage
  • Loss of eyesight
  • Significant scaring or disfigurement
  • Fall injuries
  • Broken bones or fractures bones
  • Chemical and toxic injuries (i.e., anesthesia errors or prescription mistakes)
  • Need for joint replacements
  • Organ injuries, and
  • Other serious personal injuries that can result in catastrophic harm or wrongful death.

If you or a loved one had an unexpected outcome due to medical errors or mistakes, you might be a victim of medical malpractice. Learn how one of our experienced medical malpractice lawyers can help you recover compensation for your injuries by locating and contacting one here at Medical Malpractice Universe. 

What is Medical Malpractice?

Although each state has a different definition of medical malpractice with different elements that must be proven to state a cause of action (or claim) for medical malpractice, the same basic tenants apply. 

Medical Malpractice occurs when a patient is harmed by a healthcare provider’s mistakes that fall below the standard of care. The standard of care is what a reasonably prudent healthcare provider with similar training, skill, and in the same locality would have done in similar circumstances. A healthcare provider that fails to act as a reasonably prudent healthcare provider is said to have “breached” or “deviated” from the standard of care. 

If that breach or deviation caused the patient harm or damages, that is a prima facie claim for medical malpractice. This means that a patient has asserted a cause of action for medical malpractice and may be entitled to recover compensation.

Measuring Healthcare Providers

Healthcare providers are measured against other similar healthcare providers. For example, a doctor is measured against another doctor, and a nurse is measured against another nurse. This is fair, as a nurse cannot be held to the standard of a doctor who obviously will know more based on more prolonged and more intense education, intern years, residency, and written and oral boards. Like CRNAs or physician assistants, other professionals are also compared against other CRNAs or PAs.

Further, subspecialties generally also apply. Thus an orthopedic surgeon will not be held to the level of a pediatric neurosurgeon. The same is true for an anesthesia nurse versus a labor and delivery nurse. The training, skill, and experiences between specialties are significant and must be considered.

The locality also matters too. A doctor in a rural upstate hospital may not have access to the same equipment that a downstate or city doctor may have at a vast and busy hospital. This often relates to imaging equipment. For example, in an emergency, if the standard of care would have been to order the imaging that only the doctor at the city hospital has, but it would have taken the rural doctor hours to get the patient to that facility, the rural doctor’s choice to perform an exploratory procedure may be reasonable at the rural hospital—but unreasonable at the city hospital. This is why the locality matters when gauging whether a doctor has acted reasonably.

What Are Some Common Examples of Medical Malpractice

Many different forms of medical malpractice could occur, almost an endless amount. But some of the most common forms of medical malpractice include the following:

Surgical Malpractice

Surgical malpractice is often one of the most commonly thought of instances of medical malpractice. It includes whenever a surgeon makes any mistakes pre-op, during surgery, or post-op. That includes follow-up care and treatment. Some examples of surgical malpractice include:

  • Slips of the scalpel or tools
  • Burn injuries
  • Taking too long during a procedure
  • Injuring or cutting a nerve, blood vessel, or other structure
  • Wrong site surgery
  • Wrong patient surgery
  • Improper surgical positioning
  • Failure to properly intubate, and
  • Other serious surgical errors.

Anesthesia Malpractice

Anesthesia malpractice is a severe type of medical malpractice that can quickly cause serious personal injuries, including brain injuries that are irreversible and even fatal. Anesthesia errors could happen in several ways, including ways that are not obvious. This is why having an experienced medical malpractice lawyer like one of ours can help review your case. You can find an experienced lawyer who can handle anesthesia malpractice cases because they are ubiquitous no matter your state.

Emergency Room Errors

Although most emergency departments properly care for patients, emergency room errors can result in fatal injuries when patients are improperly triaged, wards are understaffed, and healthcare providers delay in treating patients. Some emergency room errors can be avoided entirely. Still, hospitals have too many patients on and fail to pay for enough staff, resulting in medical errors. Failing to timely treat a stroke, heart attack, accident victim, assault victim (gunshot or stab), or other types of injured patients could result in medical malpractice due to ER errors.

Failure to Diagnose

A failure to diagnose is one of the most common medical errors, and It can be one of the most fatal. There are many different forms of a failure to diagnose, and all can be equally devastating for a victim and their family. Some of the most common examples of a failure to diagnose include the following:

Nursing Home Malpractice

Residents injured by nursing home malpractice can suffer life-threatening injuries. Most residents are weak and vulnerable, meaning they are more susceptible to serious injury when a healthcare provider makes a mistake. All types of nursing home malpractice are serious and can result in horrific personal injuries, including wrongful death.

Birth Injuries

One of the most egregious forms of medical malpractice is birth injuries. These are injuries that can occur before, during, or after the birth of a baby. Birth injuries are expansive and often result in severe damages for victims and their families. This includes injuries that may need around-the-clock nursing for the life of a newborn baby, including future surgeries, medication, therapies, and other treatment. Some of the most common instances of birth injuries include the following:

Other Common Forms of Medical Malpractice

There are many other common forms of medical malpractice to be aware of, including:

Who Can Be Liable for Medical Malpractice

Nearly any medical provider can be liable for medical malpractice. This does not just include the individuals but also the facilities. Some of the most common forms of medical malpractice include the following:

  • Doctors
  • Surgeons
  • Nurses
  • Physician assistants
  • Nurse practitioners
  • Med techs
  • Pharmacists
  • Radiologists
  • Dentists
  • Dental hygienists
  •  CRNAs
  • Anesthesiologists
  • Residents or interns in certain situations
  • LPNs
  • Hospitals
  • Surgical groups
  • Urgent cares
  • Pharmacies
  • Doctor groups or physician groups
  • Doctor’s offices, and
  • Any other healthcare providers rendering medical care and treatment.

Do You Believe You Have Been the Victim of Medical Malpractice?  Let One of Our Attorneys Help You

Learn What Compensation you May be Entitled to from a Medical Error | Directory of the Best Medical Malpractice Law Firms and Lawyers

Medical malpractice is severe negligence resulting in a lifetime of pain and suffering for individuals and their families. Many medical malpractice defendants will vehemently defend themselves for any claims of misconduct, sometimes even lying or stretching the truth to protect their license and livelihood. Unfortunately, this can mean that a victim may face extreme adversity when trying to recover compensation to cover medical bills, lost wages, and conscious pain and suffering. 

If you or a loved one had an unexpected outcome due to medical errors or mistakes, you might be a victim of medical malpractice. At Medical Malpractice Universe, we make sure and provide you access to the best vetted medical malpractice attorneys in the nation. Learn how one of our experienced medical malpractice lawyers can help you recover compensation for your injuries by locating one in your area at Medical Malpractice Universe.