Medical malpractice is often regarded as the ultimate form of betrayal. When you put your trust in a doctor or hospital, you expect them to provide a standard of care that will result in accurate treatment. When negligent acts by those professionals cause harm, it can lead to a medical malpractice claim.
If you pursue a medical malpractice claim in Illinois, you’re required to provide a certificate of merit from an independent medical practitioner. This is an affidavit that verifies the validity of your claim.
While this might seem out of reach, an experienced Marion medical malpractice lawyer, such as the Prince Law Firm, can help bring it together.
The primary detail in that certificate is the cause of your medical error. The following are the most common medical errors that lead to malpractice claims.
Surgical Errors
Dozens of surgical procedures are considered “routine.” It is a typical practice for a hospital or surgical center to perform multiple versions of the procedure on a single day. However, just because a procedure is routine doesn’t mean there can’t be complications. That also holds true with more complicated procedures.
With any procedure, you could encounter the following surgical errors:
Wrong Site Surgery
Many procedures require the surgeon to operate on a specific part of the body. If there are “matching parts” such as arms, legs, hands, or feet, there could be an error where the surgeon operates on the wrong side. That can result in a healthy part being injured.
Incorrect Surgical Procedure
Many surgeons specialize in a specific type of procedure. Other surgeons perform a variety of procedures. When surgeons conduct the wrong procedure on a patient, it could be due to miscommunication or substandard preparation on the part of the support team.
Anesthesia Errors
Every surgery will have a dedicated anesthesiologist who is responsible for administering and monitoring anesthesia throughout the procedure. An error in judgment with anesthesia can lead to pain, cardiac arrest, brain damage, disability, or even death.
Accidental Perforation of Organs
A successful surgery requires precision. Unfortunately, a minor miscalculation or misstep can cause a nick or perforation of an organ that can lead to internal bleeding and other complications.
Leaving a Foreign Object in the Body
Surgery requires multiple tools and instruments, often including several identical instruments for each procedure. There is a risk of scalpels, sponges, forceps, or scissors being left behind in the patient’s body.
Diagnostic Errors
A study published by the National Library of Medicine found that there could be as many as 12 million diagnostic errors each year. Those errors can trigger a chain of events that lead to various complications.
Examples of medical negligence applying to diagnostic errors can result from the following:
- Failure to order appropriate tests
- Loss of lab test results
- Delay in acting on abnormal test results
- Incorrect interpretation of test results
- Misrepresenting symptoms
- Failure to seek medical history
- Delayed referral to a specialist
A diagnostic error can delay the proper treatment for ailments such as a heart attack, sepsis, pulmonary embolism, or a brain hemorrhage.
Medication Mistakes
Doctors are notorious for having bad handwriting. Today, it is common practice for doctors to order and note that are not all typed directly into a computer. That includes prescriptions.
Of course, those orders can also be mistyped, leading to medication mistakes. There can also be a break in communication between your doctor and your pharmacist, which can lead to the wrong dosage.
Additionally, if a patient’s medical history is overlooked or not thoroughly reviewed, there may be adverse effects from the prescribed medication.
Birth Injuries
Birth injuries are another type of medical error that can take place before or during childbirth.
These injuries can result in complications that require additional surgery and a lifetime of care.
These errors can include the following:
- Misuse of birthing tools such as forceps
- Failure to perform emergency C-sections when needed
- Failure to respond to symptoms of fetal distress
- Mishandling of the baby during delivery or after birth
- Inadequate monitoring of the mother or the baby
These types of errors can lead to brain damage, cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries, and, in extreme cases, fatality.
The Next Steps for Your Medical Malpractice Claim
If you’ve been adversely affected by a medical error, you must understand what your next steps are. Prince Law Firm can provide the guidance and support you need to make an informed decision about what your next steps should be.
You can schedule a free consultation with our office to receive answers about pursuing a malpractice claim. You’ll find great comfort in knowing your options.
