The Most Common Types of Medical Malpractice and How to Protect Yourself
As a medical malpractice lawyer, I help people who’ve been hurt because of mistakes made by doctors or hospitals. We’ve worked on all types of medical malpractice, and we’ve seen countless different scenarios at our firm.
Have you ever gone to the doctor or hospital and something just didn’t seem right? Maybe you got the wrong treatment or the doctor didn’t listen to your concerns? Maybe you left in a worse condition than when you arrived.
You may wonder if that’s a common experience, or if what happened to you counts as malpractice. Here, I’ll talk about the most common types of medical malpractice and what you can do to protect yourself.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice happens when a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare provider makes a serious mistake that harms a patient.
Generally, this means they act outside a reasonable standard of care. In other words, they do something most other professionals wouldn’t do in the same position.
As a result, they cause harm to the patient. So this isn’t just about feeling unhappy with your care; it’s about actual errors that cause injury or illness.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice can mean a lot of different things, but in every type, a serious mistake or wrongdoing causes a patient real harm. Here are some of the main examples we see at our medical malpractice firm:
Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis
This is one of the most common types. It happens when your doctor doesn’t diagnose a condition correctly or takes too long to diagnose it. This can lead to the wrong treatment or no treatment at all, making your condition worse.
Remember, with this or any other type of medical malpractice, you really need to be able to show how it’s harmed you. It’s not enough that you had to get a second opinion – the misdiagnosis must lead to a worse condition or injury.
Medication Errors
These errors can happen if you’re given the wrong medicine, the wrong dose, or a drug you’re allergic to. Commonly, a doctor might prescribe a medication that they should have been aware interacts poorly with another you’re already taking.
Medication mistakes can be very dangerous and cause serious health problems.
Surgical Errors
These mistakes happen during surgery, and can include:
- operating on the wrong part of your body
- leaving surgical tools in the patient
- working under the influence
- and more.
Even a small piece of gauze left behind can have a serious impact. If not caught quickly, it can cause infection and even poisoning over time.
Birth Injuries
These occur when a baby is injured during childbirth because of something the doctor or nurses did wrong. This can lead to very serious conditions like brain damage or nerve injuries in babies.
How to Protect Yourself
It’s important to remember there’s not always a way to protect yourself completely. Any major medical procedure will come with risks.
So if someone suffers from medical malpractice, they don’t deserve any blame for failing to protect themselves. No one can perfectly predict how their treatments will go and why.
But there are a few things you can do to remain vigilant:
- Ask Questions:
Always ask your doctor lots of questions. If you don’t understand something about your treatment or diagnosis, keep asking until you do. It’s important to understand what’s happening with your health. - Get a Second Opinion:
If a diagnosis or treatment plan seems off, don’t hesitate to see another doctor for a second opinion. This can help confirm the first doctor’s plan or reveal new options. - Keep Records:
Keep all your medical records, test results, and notes from doctor visits. These documents are very important if you ever need to show what happened during your treatment. - Know Your Rights:
If something goes wrong, you might feel scared or unsure about what to do. That’s where we can help. Our medical malpractice lawyers know your rights and can tell you if you have a case against your healthcare provider.
Remember You’re Not Alone
Facing a medical error can be scary and confusing, but you don’t have to deal with it alone.
If you think you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice, our Memphis medical malpractice lawyers can help you understand your situation and guide you on what to do next.
We represent you every step of the way, fight for you against powerful hospitals and insurance companies, and help you get the compensation you need and deserve. And we don’t make a penny unless and until we win your case.
Remember, protecting your health also means knowing when to ask for help if something goes wrong with your medical care. And help is right here with us.
To get started, just contact us 24/7 using the form on this page or call us at 901-327-2100.