Malpractice is all too common in Pennsylvania and across the U.S. Many doctors and nurses fail to live up to generally accepted standards through miscommunication, carelessness, fatigue and other factors. Below are just five of the most widespread forms of medical malpractice.
Diagnostic errors, which are perhaps the most common, include misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses. Patients may suffer from these errors by undergoing unnecessary treatments and even developing new conditions. Next, there are medication errors, which affect some 1.3 million Americans every year. A doctor may prescribe the wrong drug or dosage or prescribe a drug without thinking how it will interact with other medications the patient is taking.
The third common example is surgical errors where surgeons perform the wrong procedure, operate on the wrong side or operate on the wrong patient (usually someone with a similar name to the correct patient). Miscommunication could be to blame for these errors, but they normally indicate deeper problems with the facility’s safety protocols.
Errors during the delivery process come in fourth. These can end in babies incurring brain damage, skull damage, cerebral palsy and learning disorders. Mothers may even be injured, suffering fissures, infection and more. The last error is connected with anesthesia. Patients may be the victims of an overdose, substitution errors and clerical errors. They may even be left with physical or mental impairment.
When there are grounds for a medical malpractice case, a victim may want to retain legal counsel before anything else. In Pennsylvania, a plaintiff must file a claim within two years of the date when they discovered or should have discovered the injuries. With a lawyer, a victim will likely have access to a network of investigators and other professionals who can gather evidence and do whatever else it takes to ensure a strong case. The lawyer may negotiate if the other side is willing.