There are many different types of medical malpractice you might encounter, and it’s important to be familiar with them in case you need to turn to a medical malpractice attorney residents trust for help. Different situations warrant different actions and lawsuits, so knowing what they are will help you choose the right course of action when something goes wrong in your medical treatment. Our friends at David & Philpot, P.L. have provided 5 types of medical malpractice you might encounter, and what they could mean for your case.
#1: Negligence
Negligence is one of the most common types of medical malpractice. Negligence happens when a doctor or another healthcare professional does not act as a reasonably prudent person in that profession would have acted in similar circumstances. These situations typically involve the doctor being grossly negligent, such as leaving a foreign object inside a patient after surgery. In these cases, it’s often hard to prove what was going on inside the doctor’s mind at the time they performed the procedure. However, an experienced attorney can still help you!
#2: Communication
Communication is the process by which medical professionals and other staff members talk with each other, their patients, and their families. When there is a communication breakdown, mistakes can happen, injuries can go untreated or unknown, and malpractice can occur. There are three common communication issues that are easy to overlook but can have dangerous results: 1) misdiagnosis; 2) missed diagnoses; 3) incorrect or improper treatments. These errors usually come from miscommunications between doctors and hospital staff, who often don’t share pertinent information about their patient’s care. Doctors may also fail to disclose important details in regards to treatment methods during consultations with patients and/or insurance providers — this leads to misunderstandings about insurance coverage, for instance.
#3: Diagnostic Error
A diagnostic error is when a doctor misses or misdiagnoses an illness. This can happen for a number of reasons, and the consequences can be serious. The patient might not get the right treatment, which could delay the time it takes to recover from their illness. If the diagnosis is wrong, the patient might not get better at all or might even die. For example, if someone has cancer but the doctor thinks they have allergies, they might never find out about the cancer until it’s too late. Diagnostic errors are very common in emergency rooms.
#4: Wrong Procedure
A wrong procedure happens when a doctor performs the wrong surgery or other type of medical treatment on their patient. For example, imagine a woman who comes to the hospital for her scheduled C-section. The nurse puts her in the waiting room and leaves her there for hours while she’s in labor. When they finally do get around to wheeling her back into the operating room, they find that they can’t perform the C-section because she has already delivered her baby.
#5: Performing the Procedure at All
Sometimes it turns out that procedures are not necessary at all. These sorts of procedures can come about due to negligence or doctor error. For example, perhaps a doctor has told you that you need a hip replacement, so you undergo the surgery. However, it is later discovered that you just needed a cortisone shot in the hip to make it feel better instead of an entire replacement.
If you have experienced any of the above issues or anything similar, then it’s time to contact a medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible.