Diagnosis
Mistakes
 This
type of malpractice occurs when the doctor's treatment falls
below the standard of care because the doctor negligently
fails to make a timely diagnosis (delay in diagnosis), or
errs by making a wrong diagnosis (misdiagnosis), and the result
is that this causes an injury to the patient or the aggravation
of a pre-existing condition. This is probably the most common
type of malpractice because it can occur with almost any kind
of medical condition.
Examples
may include a failure to diagnose and treat appendicitis,
a bowel impaction, a pulmonary embolism, high blood pressure,
internal bleeding, heart condition, blood clot, stroke, aneurysm,
cancer, diabetes, pneumonia, infection, gall bladder disease,
distressed fetus, and many more.
Surgical Mistakes
Another
common form of medical malpractice is surgical error. This
occurs when a patient suffers an injury from surgery because
the doctor fell below the standard of care in that he/she:
-
Performs the wrong operation or operates on the wrong
patient.
- Performs an operation on a patient who should not reasonably
have been considered a candidate for the surgery.
- Cuts or damages a part of the body that should not reasonably
have been damaged.
- Fails to properly administer anesthesia.
- Leaves a surgical instrument or sponge in the patient's
body.
- Improperly inserts a medical device or prosthesis such
as a pacemaker or artificial hip.
Medication
Errors
This
type of malpractice occurs when the doctor negligently prescribes
or gives the wrong medication or dosage. When prescribing
medications, a doctor needs to be aware of potential adverse
reactions or complications and should start by examining the
patient and taking a thorough medical history regarding any
known allergies that the patient may have, what other medications
the patient is presently taking, and what other medical conditions
the patient has that would contraindicate the use of the medication.
Certain
medications such as narcotics can be addictive and the doctor
should carefully monitor how much pain medication the patient
is being prescribed to control the patient's pain. Some prescription
medications may require periodic blood testing to monitor
for liver damage, kidney damage, etc. If the doctor fails
to reasonably monitor the patient, their failure may constitute
negligence.
When
a medication is unreasonably dangerous and is withdrawn from
the marketplace, the legal case may involve a product liability
claim against the pharmacy for distributing the product and
the pharmaceutical company for manufacturing the product.
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