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Common causes of medical malpractice

| Jun 12, 2020 | Medical Malpractice

When you seek medical care, it’s your hope that the care you receive will be in line with the appropriate standard of care. But, not all medical professionals have the same level of skills and training, and not every patient will receive the same care. The sad truth is that many people are harmed because of negligence and mistakes that their medical providers make.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are sometimes a necessary step for patients who have been harmed as a result of medical errors or negligence. According to the 2018 CRICO Strategies National CBS Report, the majority of medical malpractice cases are filed as a result of injuries in just three categories of health care: Medical treatment, diagnostics or surgical treatment. Around 73% of cases come from these categories.

Of the three categories, surgical treatment is the most common source of cases. Issues during surgery may include problems such as:

  • Anesthesia errors
  • Never events (leaving objects behind, operating on the wrong patient, operating on the wrong body part, performing the wrong surgery)
  • Miscommunication errors

Surgical errors are not the only errors that can affect patients, though. Medical cases that are mismanaged can lead to lawsuits as well. Improperly managing a patient’s medications, for example, could lead to overdoses or severe side effects from mixing drugs that should not be used together.

There is also a risk to patients when a medical provider diagnoses them. Cancers are the most likely to be misdiagnosed, but strokes, cardiac conditions and problems with the digestive system are also misdiagnosed commonly.

If you are a victim of one of these issues or another problem with your medical care, you may want to consider looking into your legal rights. Your provider should always be delivering the highest-quality care to their patients.

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