Your medical professional has an obligation to treat you with a professional level of care. When this does not occur and you are injured as a result, you may have the grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. Proving medical malpractice is complicated made even more so by the complexities of the medical profession.
Doctors, nurses, therapists and specialists have really tough jobs, but they also have the public trust and as such are held to a very high standard that says that they cannot be negligent or incompetent. When they are either of these and the patient is injured, that patient has the right to engage an attorney and launch a medical malpractice lawsuit. Today medical malpractice makes up one of the largest percentage of personal injury cases which are some of the most common types of lawsuits today.
The most frequent reasons for medical malpractice lawsuits in the US
Mistakes During Surgery
Surgery is complicated and involves many medical practitioners working together to operate on a patient for a successful outcome. The amount of mistakes made during surgery would astound most people and the ones that cause serious injury is also high. Injuries include operating on the wrong organ or limb, puncturing an organ, or inadequate medical techniques to stop bleeding or stitching a body. These can each cause serious harm to a patient and can fall under medical malpractice if caused by negligence or incompetence.
Wrong Diagnosis
Perhaps the most common form of medical malpractice is misdiagnosis. These include giving a positive or negative diagnosis when the opposite is correct, diagnosing something else than the actual ailment, or not diagnosing an ailment can all lead to serious harm for a patient. There is always some room for error in a misdiagnosis but when a patient is injured or gets ill because of one, the circumstances should be examined for negligence or incompetence.
When a Medical Practitioner Fails to Obtain Informed Consent
A medical practitioner has an obligation to inform a patient of likely outcomes from a procedure treatment or medication, the potential risks and any alternatives that might cause a different outcome. When the medical practitioner does not do this and the patient is harmed by the treatment, medication or procedure that the medical professional does offer, this is potential grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. The patient must be made aware of all reasonable alternatives regardless of what the medical practitioner thinks of those options.
Injuries During Childbirth
These types of injuries are extremely common because of the complexities of childbirth. They can affect with the mother or child or both and include fractures, nerve damage and injuries to the child’s skull. It also applies to misdiagnosis or non-diagnosis of any medical conditions in the mother or birth defects in the child.
If you have been injured as a patient of a medical practitioner you should contact a reputable local medical malpractice attorney to discuss the circumstances around your injuries. If you live in Cleveland, you need a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer to assist you with your case.
