Three Common Medical Malpractice Cases

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) more than 250,000 people die each year due to medical mistakes. This means that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States – ranking only behind cancer and heart disease.

The attorneys at The Richardson Firm are familiar with medical practice laws and are here to explain a few common types of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Failure to make the correct diagnosis, birth injuries, and medication errors are three common types of medical malpractice lawsuits.

FAILURE TO MAKE THE CORRECT DIAGNOSIS

Although many doctors are extremely hardworking and competent, a medical error and a medical malpractice lawsuit may occur if a doctor makes a wrong or delayed diagnosis because he/she failed to notice something that another doctor working under similar conditions would have taken into account.

According to one study in the U.S., approximately 1 out of 20 patients are misdiagnosed. To make it worse, in about 50 percent of the cases, the misdiagnosis had the potential to result in severe harm.

BIRTH INJURIES

Birth injuries happen most often during labor and delivery. Every year in the U.S. approximately just under 30,000 babies are born with some form of birth injury. This means that a baby is born with a birth injury every 20 minutes. In many instances, the injuries are broken bones or damaged nerves.

MEDICATION ERRORS

According to NIH, approximately 1.5 million people are injured every year in the United States as a result of medication errors.

Medication errors can happen in several ways. In some cases, the patient is simply given the wrong medication. A patient can be given the wrong prescription by a doctor or pharmacist. Dosage mistakes are another common form of medication error. A nurse may give the patient more or less of a drug than required. Hospital equipment can also cause errors. If a patient is being given a drug through a pump and the equipment malfunctions, a dosage mistake can occur.

Age is another factor that can play a role in medication errors. Almost half of the fatal medication errors noted have occurred in people over the age of 60. This could be because older people are often on more medications than younger people.

CONTACT US

If you suspect you are a victim of medical malpractice, contact one of our professional malpractice lawyers in Fayetteville to schedule your consultation to discuss your situation. You may also contact us online.

Call us at 910-488-5050 to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys. Most consultations are free.