Common Types of Medical Malpractice Cases
A person contemplating a medical malpractice case likely has a number of questions about what actually constitutes medical malpractice in a real-world sense.
Surgical Errors
Surgical errors come in many different forms. A surprising number of surgical error cases involve a surgeon performing an incorrect procedure. Although something of a cliché, operating on the wrong or leg illustrates a surgical error involving an incorrect procedure.
Another example of a surgical error case that also occurs with surprising frequency is leaving medical instruments in a patient’s body at the conclusion of a surgery. Yet again, a long-used cliché about a sponge left behind by a surgeon actually does illustrate the point of what can happen in regard to certain types of surgical error cases.
Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis Cases
A common type of medical malpractice case involves a doctor misdiagnosing a patient. In that situation, a doctor is negligent in failing to properly diagnosis the disease, condition, or ailment afflicting a patient. Under the circumstances prevailing at the time the doctor in question made an incorrect diagnosis, a physician using reasonable care would have diagnosed correctly.
A delayed diagnosis represents a related type of medical malpractice. In this scenario, a doctor eventually arrives at a proper diagnosis of a patient. Nonetheless, a proper diagnosis of not, the doctor does not make it until an inordinate amount of time lapsed. Such a delay in making a proper diagnosis typically results in an unnecessary aggravation of a patient’s condition.
Improper or Incomplete Medical Advisement
Medical advisements are crucial when it comes to a patient giving truly informed consent to a medical procedure or treatment, including surgery. Unfortunately, time and again, health care professionals undertake the patient advisement process in a manner that oftentimes can be considered pro forma at best.
A patient has a right to have clear and readily understandable information about a proposed medical procedure or treatment before providing his or her consent. This includes an appropriately detailed explanation of the risks associated with a procedure or treatment.
If an appropriate advisement is not provided to a patient, and the patient suffers a side effect from the procedure or treatment, he or she may be able to make a malpractice claim if he or she was not properly advised of the risk.