The five most common kinds of medical malpractice claims, in no particular order, are failure to treat, prescription drug errors, surgical or procedural errors, misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, and childbirth injuries.
Medical malpractice can have devastating, life-altering consequences for victims and their families. Tragically, it is ubiquitous throughout the United States. Reports estimate hundreds of thousands of people die every year as a result of medical neglect or errors.
Understanding the Most Common Medical Malpractice Claims
Here is some more information about the most common types of medical malpractice claims:
Misdiagnosis & Delayed Diagnosis
According to an article in Modern Healthcare, about 33% of medical malpractice claims filed between 2013 and 2017 were related to diagnostic errors. In the United States, about 12 million people are misdiagnosed in outpatient settings every year, according to a 2014 report from the journal BMJ Quality & Safety.
Without an accurate diagnosis, it is impossible to receive proper treatment. And with many conditions, early detection can significantly increase the chances of a more favorable prognosis. As a result, diagnostic delays or errors can have tragic consequences, resulting in preventable pain and suffering – and even death.
Failure to Treat
Even if a doctor diagnoses a condition accurately, it may constitute medical malpractice if they fail to treat it appropriately. Similar to misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose, delayed or nonexistent treatment can have devastating effects. Prematurely discharging a patient or failing to follow up can fall under this category as well.
Prescription Errors
Prescription errors involve a medical provider prescribing the incorrect prescription or dosage. It can also include improper administration or prescribing drugs that adversely interact with other drugs the patient is taking. Drug manufacturers, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists can be complicit in such medical malpractice cases.
Surgery Mistakes
Surgical errors can encompass everything from leaving a tool or sponge inside a patient’s body during the operation to operating on the wrong body part. In rare cases, a surgeon may even work on the wrong patient. Surgeons are to blame in some of these situations, but they result from poor preoperative preparation more often. Such errors can cause physical and emotional pain and suffering and dangerous complications, including infections and even death.
Birth Injuries
Birth injuries are the most common type of malpractice claims against OBGYNs. Such conditions may affect the mother, child, or both.
These cases can include negligence in prenatal care, which can cause trauma such as bleeding in the brain, restriction of blood and oxygen to the brain during delivery, and damage to the cranial or peripheral nerves.
Cerebral palsy, shoulder dystocia, cephalohematoma, and hepatitis transmission are common injuries caused by errors during the birth process. While some birth injuries are tragically unavoidable, many can be prevented with proper care.
Examples of Medical Negligence
A doctor can be guilty of medical negligence if the level of care they provided you with caused you to suffer an injury, become ill, or resulted in your illness worsening. Some examples of medical negligence include:
Misdiagnosis
When you go to the doctor for an illness or other type of medical condition, your doctor should do their best to provide you with an accurate diagnosis. Sometimes, however, you may need to undergo tests or other types of treatment so they can accurately diagnose your condition.
When a physician fails to diagnose a patient or provides them with the wrong diagnosis, then they could be liable for medical negligence.
Surgical Mistakes
Some examples of surgical mistakes include:
- Operating on the wrong side of the body
- Operating on the wrong level of the spine
- Undergoing a surgical procedure that was intended for someone else
- Stitching or cutting surrounding tissue
- Leaving foreign bodies such as sponges or other surgical equipment in the surgical space
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality suggests that surgical mistakes occur in approximately 1 out of every 112,000 surgical procedures. They can cause a person to suffer from serious health issues as a result.
Failing to Inform Before Undergoing a Surgical Procedure
Before you undergo any type of surgical procedure, your doctor should warn you of the potential complications or side effects that you might experience as a result. This way, you can make an informed decision as to whether you want to have the surgery performed.
However, if your doctor fails to warn you of the potential risks associated with the surgery and you suffer an injury or adverse effect that you did not know was a potential outcome, you may have a viable case against the physician or the hospital they work for.
