The Results of Medical Malpractice Can Be Deadly

Medical malpractice claims sometimes include some incredibly dangerous scenarios. In some instances, patients have had surgeon’s instruments and other hardware left in their bodies after their surgery was closed. In other people, they have been given the incorrect treatment for their conditions, making their situation worse by not healing it or by providing a remedy that actually exacerbates it. There are men and women who are provided medications that their charts say they’re allergic to and people who are given medicine that has absolutely nothing to do with their ailment. Not all medical malpractice claims are so dramatic, however.

One of the most common forms of malpractice involves a physician failing to recognize something that must have been clear to them. This isn’t a big deal if it’s a minor condition, but there are situations where early detection is important to the patient’s prospects of survival. Cancer is an obvious disease with this characteristic. Other illnesses like this include heart conditions, high blood pressure, diabetes and several others. Cases where a patient is injured due to this type of negligence make up practically half of the medical malpractice claims filed every year. Failure to diagnose can be as deadly as giving the incorrect treatment.

In some cases, it might not be the medical professional who is the cause of the harm suffered by a malpractice victim. Hospitals are starting to be more harmful due to the existence of superbugs, a term for bacteria that are resistant to treatment by antibiotics. This could become a fatal situation easily. If an already weakened patient is contaminated with these micro organisms, there is little that can be done to reverse the new infection. This oftentimes will come down to an issue of cleanliness on the part of the medical center and, if requirements are not kept up, the outcomes can be lethal.

Some medical malpractice claims are filed against nurses, as well. These experts have a duty to provide for your wellbeing, if you’re their patient, and they can be held responsible if they breach that duty. The most important thing to keep in mind is that a malpractice claim does not have to include severe or lethal situations. In any situation where a physician has not held up to their duty to provide you with capable and proper treatment, you can talk to a lawyer and see if you have a lawsuit option accessible to you. If you do, you might receive monetary compensation.