How to Tell if You or a Loved One Have Been Subjected to Negligent Care
In our modern era of medicine, the level of care expected of medical professionals is ever changing and, promisingly, always improving. However, there may come a time when you or a loved one is not treated with appropriate medical care, referred to as Negligent Care. Negligent Care can be difficult to assess; just because a doctor makes a mistake, or a patient is unhappy with a course of treatment or its outcome, doesn’t mean that the medical professional provided Negligent Care. Negligent Care arises when a doctor was not reasonably skillful or competent, and that incompetence harmed the patient. Negligence that meets this standard can become the basis for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Fortunately, doctors, nurses, and hospitals make mistakes in a small number of cases. But within that small minority of cases, certain types of errors crop up more often than others.
Medical Malpractice: Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis
When a doctor misdiagnoses a condition (or fails to diagnose a serious disease for some time), the patient might miss treatment opportunities that could have prevented serious harm or even death. If a reasonably skillful and competent medical professional under the same circumstances would not have made the diagnostic error, then the treating medical professional may have provided Negligent Care.
Medical Malpractice: Pregnancy Injuries
The Negligent Care of a medical professional, both before childbirth (pre-natal) and during childbirth, can put the mother and the fetus at risk. If a reasonably skillful and competent medical professional under the same circumstances would not have made the pre-natal or childbirth errors, then the treating medical professional may have provided Negligent Care.
Medical Malpractice: Medication Errors
Medication errors can occur anytime from the initial prescription to the administration of the drug. For example, a patient might be harmed if the doctor prescribes the wrong medication or the wrong dosage. Again, if another medical professional would not have made those same errors in the same conditions, then the treating medical professional may have provided Negligent Care.
Medical Malpractice: Anesthesia Errors
An anesthesiologist can commit medical malpractice even before anesthesia is administered by failing to investigate the patient’s medical history for possible complications, or even failing to inform the patient of the risks involved if preoperative instructions aren’t followed.
Medical Malpractice: Surgery Errors
A surgeon might be negligent during the operation itself (puncturing internal organs, operating on the wrong body part, or leaving surgical instruments in the body) or the nursing staff might be negligent in administering post-op care (which could result in complications like serious infection). Either way, if any of the medical professionals are found to have provided Negligent Care, they could be liable for medical malpractice.
Getting Attorney Help with a Negligent Care Case
Medical malpractice cases are regulated by complex rules and often require expert medical evaluations. For more information on Negligent Care and Medical Malpractice cases, see [Do I Have A Medical Malpractice Case?]. And if you think you or a loved one has a Negligent Care case, contact an experienced medical malpractice lawyer at the Law Offices of Andrew Ritholz today.
