When a medical professional makes a serious mistake out of negligence that harms the patient, this is medical malpractice. If you feel as though you’ve been the victim of malpractice, you could be entitled to compensation. Before filing a claim, it helps to understand the different examples of malpractice, as a medical malpractice lawyer, can explain.
Failure to Treat
If your doctor made the right diagnosis but then failed to treat you for the illness or injury, this may be a failure to treat. Essentially, a doctor may release you before you receive adequate treatment or fail to follow up with the treatment. You may have a diagnosis that requires the help of a specialist and your doctor failed to refer you to one.
Birth Injuries
Birth injuries can affect a child for the rest of his or her life. Sometimes, it comes from inadequate prenatal care and other times negligence during childbirth can lead to birth injuries or long-term conditions. These cases can cost upwards of millions of dollars. Birth injuries may include facial paralysis, cerebral palsy, oxygen deprivation and more. While there are times where birth injuries are unavoidable, it is important to remember that if it was caused by negligence, it is malpractice.
Surgical Errors
Surgical errors can have some of the most devastating consequences. Even if a patient signs a consent form acknowledging the risk, the physician is not allowed to act negligently. In some cases, a doctor may perform an incorrect procedure, damage the organs or nerves near the site of the surgery or leave an instrument in the surgery site.
Misdiagnosis
One of the more common medical malpractice claims is misdiagnosis. Misdiagnosis includes when a doctor performs an examination but doesn’t diagnose the correct illness. A doctor may say that the patient has no illness or he or she will diagnose the patient with an incorrect illness.
When a doctor fails to diagnose a patient with the correct illness, the patient won’t receive adequate medical treatment. One thing to keep in mind with misdiagnosis is that misdiagnosis does not automatically qualify as malpractice. It is only malpractice if another doctor in a similar circumstance would not make the same mistake.
If you were harmed because of a medical error or negligence, you may be entitled to compensation. Filing a claim can be complex, so you have your best chance with the help of an attorney. Contact a medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your options.