Medical malpractice lawsuits arise because of a betrayal of trust. Health care providers and institutions are trusted with the most valuable possessions anyone has their own lives and the lives of their loved ones. When a doctor, nurse or pharmacist is negligent and commits a significant error, the consequences can be catastrophic.
Medical malpractice cases generally concern one of these four categories: misdiagnosis, pregnancy and childbirth, surgery or medications.
Misdiagnosis
More malpractice cases involve a missed or wrong diagnosis than any other single medical error. A misdiagnosis is such a serious error because it means that the patient is not being treated for the condition that they actually have.
The five medical conditions most frequently misdiagnosed are:
• Tumors
• Infections
• Pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lung)
• Heart disease
• Heart attacks
Pregnancy and Childbirth
Pregnancy and childbirth are inherently hazardous, requiring vigilance from health care providers. Some of the most common complications include:
• Gestational diabetes
• Hemorrhaging or unexplained bleeding during either the pregnancy or labor
• Abnormalities of the placenta
• Preeclampsia
• Premature birth
Surgery
The spine and gastrointestinal tract are the bodily locations of many surgical errors. The most frequently encountered surgical errors include:
• Nerve damage
• Failure to control the patient’s bleeding
• Leaving a medical tool, such a a sponge, inside the patient
Anesthesia involves very powerful drugs that must be precisely administered while the patient’s condition is constantly monitored. Some operations have specific dangers; during a long back surgery, for example, the patient must be moved periodically or risk blindness.
Errors involving anesthesia include:
• Too much or too little anesthesia
• The wrong kind of anesthesia
Medications
Medication errors are very common and generally concern either the wrong dosage or the wrong medication. There’s a long supply chain stretching from the manufacturer to the patient and someone could make a serious error at any point. If someone misread a dosage as 50 instead of .50, for example, the patient would be getting 100 times the correct dose.
Anyone who believes that they have been injured because of a health practitioner’s negligence should immediately contact an experienced medical malpractice lawyer in Tuscaloosa County, AL. Gene T. Moore, attorney at law, has been fighting for the compensation due to his clients for over 20 years. Visit the website to learn more and to schedule a free legal consultation with this skilled medical malpractice lawyer in Tuscaloosa County, AL.
