When a patient is injured as a result of negligent care by a medical doctor, health care professional, or hospital, the circumstance is commonly referred to as “medical malpractice.” In medical malpractice cases, injuries may vary from minor to life-altering, and, if severe enough, may result in death.

Medical Malpractice is Common

Medical malpractice occurs far too often.

In fact, a recent report from Johns Hopkins Medicine estimates as many as 250,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical mistakes, making it the third-leading cause of death in the United States.

If you believe that you are a victim of medical malpractice, you may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit as a way to secure financial compensation for pain and suffering, medical expenses, life care costs, and lost work wages.

What Is a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

A medical malpractice lawsuit is typically filed shortly after a medical professional’s care resulted in a patient’s injury. These lawsuits may vary based on the type and severity of the injury, but all medical malpractice suits aim to provide injured patients with significant financial compensation.

In medical malpractice lawsuits, a medical provider or facility may have:

• Failed to provide an acceptable standard of care
• Acted with negligence, either through an omission or a direct negligent act
• Caused significant injury to the patient

In order for a patient to secure financial compensation for an injury caused by medical negligence, their legal team must prove that the injury was the result of medical malpractice, meeting the criteria noted above.

Types of Medical Malpractice

There are several different types of medical malpractice, but the common denominator is that negligent medical care results in a significant injury to a patient. Through no fault of their own, medical malpractice victims are forced to experience dramatic physical and emotional challenges, potentially for the rest of their lives.

It’s worth noting that the type of medical malpractice and the severity of the injury may have drastic impacts on the victim’s claim for compensation. Below, we outline some of the more common types of medical malpractice, though this list is not exhaustive.

Birth and Pregnancy Injuries Malpractice

Birth injuries and pregnancy injuries are some of the more common types of medical malpractice. These injuries are caused by medical negligence and take place before, during, or shortly after the birth of a newborn, often resulting in significant injury to the child.

In a birth injury medical malpractice case, the baby’s brain and/or body is injured, resulting in injuries that may last a lifetime. As devastating as it is, around 7 of every 1,000 newborns may be injured at birth.

Some of the more common birth injuries include:

• Cerebral palsy
• Erb’s palsy
• Infant brain damage
• Injuries to the brachial plexus nerves

Other serious birth injuries may result in bleeding and/or lack of oxygen in the brain, facial nerve damage, and/or skull fracturing.

Failure to Diagnose Malpractice Lawsuits

Failure to diagnose conditions and failure to diagnose cancer are two of the more common types of medical malpractice lawsuits. When a doctor or medical practitioner fails to diagnose a serious medical condition, illness, or disease, it may prove catastrophic for the patient.

A doctor may fail to diagnose:

• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Blood clot
• Pulmonary embolism
• Infection

If a doctor fails to diagnose cancer, tumors may progress and spread undetected, and the patient may then miss their window of opportunity for life-extending therapies or surgeries.

Surgery

During a surgical operation, a surgeon may make preventable mistakes that result in patient injury. Known as surgical errors, this type of medical malpractice is shockingly common.

Preventable surgical errors include:

• Wrong-site surgery (when surgery is done on the wrong part or side of the body, like removing the left lung when cancer was in the right lung instead)
• Wrong-patient surgery
• Damage to internal organs
• Surgical tools left inside of the body
• Improper management of post-operative complications
• Botched plastic surgery

Though these types of errors may seem extreme, over 51.4 million surgeries are conducted each year in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 1 in every 112,000 surgeries may result in an error — a figure that does not include ER and ambulance operations, which produce more surgical errors.

Other Medical Malpractice Cases

While failure-to-diagnose, surgical, and birth-related medical malpractice are more common, there are many other types of medical malpractice as well, each of which may be equally catastrophic.

Some other medical malpractice cases include:

• Delayed diagnosis: A doctor diagnoses a disease or condition later than they otherwise should have
• Emergency room errors: An ER doctor makes a medical error in an emergency-room setting that results in significant injury to the patient
• Failure to treat: A doctor makes an accurate diagnosis, but does not prescribe adequate medical treatment
• Misdiagnosis: A doctor makes an incorrect diagnosis, resulting in improper treatment
• Prescription drug errors: A doctor prescribes the wrong medication or the right medication but in too high or too low a dosage

If you do not see the medical malpractice situation that injured you or your loved one, we may still determine if you have a case. Contact us today for a free consultation.