Patients expect their health care providers to take good care of them. Fortunately, most medical professionals do just that. However, doctors and other medical professionals aren’t perfect. Like anyone else, they sometimes make mistakes. And when this happens, the consequences are often serious. When a medical professional’s negligent actions result in a patient’s injury, this is called medical malpractice. Below is an overview of the most common types of medical malpractice.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice
Diagnosis Errors
Diagnosis errors are a common type of medical malpractice. Diagnosis errors usually aren’t discovered until a patient fails to respond to treatment, and the length of time between the incorrect diagnosis and the correct diagnosis plays a big role in determining an individual’s eligibility for compensation. Commonly misdiagnosed conditions include:
- Heart attacks
- Heart disease
- Infections
- Blood clots
- Tumors
Surgical Errors
Surgical errors are a common form of medical malpractice. Common surgical errors include:
- Performing an unnecessary operation
- Failing to obtain informed consent from the patient prior to proceeding with the operation
- Failing to control bleeding
- Performing the wrong operation
- Leaving items inside the patient after surgery
- Giving the patient an incorrect dose of medication during surgery
- Failing to rotate the patient during surgery to avoid placing too much pressure on certain parts of the body
- Failing to follow proper sanitation procedures before, during, and after surgery
- Using defective equipment
Medication Errors
Finally, doctors sometimes made medication errors. Common types of medication errors include:
- Prescribing the wrong medication
- Failing to give the patient the appropriate medication at the right time
- Giving the patient an incorrect dosage of medication
- Failing to observe a harmful drug interaction
How to Prove a Malpractice Case
In order to win a medical malpractice lawsuit, your attorney must demonstrate the following elements:
- Duty – First, your attorney must demonstrate that your health care provider had a duty of care or a doctor/patient relationship with you.
- Breach of Duty – Next, your attorney must show that your provider failed to deliver care that is consistent with recognized medical treatment standards.
- Damages – Your attorney must also prove that your condition worsened or that you experienced other medical issues.
- Causation – Finally, your medical malpractice attorney must demonstrate that your injuries are directly related to your medical provider’s conduct and not attributed to some other cause.
Contact our medical malpractice attorney today for a consultation
If you are a victim of medical malpractice, you need an experienced Florida medical malpractice attorney on your side. Located in Pensacola, Florida, Staples, Ellis + Associates, P.A., has over seventy years of combined experience representing the victims of medical malpractice in Northwest Florida. At Staples Ellis, we will fight for your right to receive compensation for your Florida medical malpractice injuries. Please contact our office as soon as possible to set up a consultation with one of our talented medical malpractice attorneys.
Posted in: Medical Malpractice