Medical malpractice can be life-threatening. If you or someone you love has been affected by a doctor, surgeon or other healthcare worker’s negligence, a lawsuit can help you seek compensation for the resulting losses and damages. Although technology helps reduce medical error, medical malpractice causes over 250,000 deaths each year.
To prevent further suffering and help make up for certain losses, you might consider filing a medical malpractice claim. These are four of the most common reasons you may decide to file a lawsuit against a medical professional.
Surgical Errors
Surgical mistakes range in severity but all of them cause significant distress to patients and their families. Many people who experience a surgical error are forced to undergo another corrective procedure, which only furthers their mental and emotional distress on top of their physical ailment, and add extra costs to the recovery process.
Anesthesia Mistakes
There is a staggering number of harmful side-effects to anesthesia errors including visual impairment, ringing in the ears, hypoxia, heart arrhythmia or heart failure, spinal cord damage and paralysis, stroke, seizures, and even coma.
Defective equipment or improper administration procedures are two of the leading causes of anesthesia errors. Administering too little anesthesia is also a liable fault as it can cause patients to gain awareness during surgery, which can cause serious psychological distress and long-term trauma.
Poor Assessment or Misdiagnosis
If a doctor’s failure to properly examine a patient results in a preventable injury or delays treatment of a serious disease, you may be able to sue for medical malpractice. A doctor’s negligence can result in chronic illness, suffering and even death from what could have been a treatable condition.
Before you can sue a doctor for misdiagnosis, you will have to make sure that your case meets a set of criteria. Consulting with a wrongful death attorney can help clarify your options in situations that resulted in the death of a loved one.
Improper Treatment
Improper treatment can refer to a doctor’s conduct, the prescription of improper treatments, or the administration of proper treatment in an incompetent and unjustifiable manner. A physician who rushes treatment, prescribes the wrong drug, or ignores a drug allergy can also be liable for negligence.
Medical malpractice for improper treatment can be intimidating. In fact, very few patients who feel they have been wronged by a doctor ever file a claim. However, the best thing you can do for yourself if you believe you or a loved one has suffered due to a medical error is to speak with a local medical malpractice lawyer.
Author information: Anita is a freelance writer from Denver, CO. She studied at Colorado State University and now writes articles about health, business, family, and finance. A mother of two, she enjoys traveling with her family whenever she isn’t writing. You can follow her on Twitter @anitaginsburg.
