There are rarely occasions when going to the hospital is a fun experience. Typically going to the hospital means receiving treatment for a condition or visiting someone who is sick or injured. Fortunately, the majority of patients’ conditions improve and they’re able to leave.
But there are also occasions when the medical staff makes a mistake that causes harm to the patient. Medical mistakes happen more often than you may think. In fact, medical mistakes have become one of the top causes of death in the United States. It’s important to be aware of common mistakes so you know when it’s time to hold the medical staff or hospital accountable.
Misdiagnosis
Receiving an incorrect diagnosis is the most common type of medical mistake. This occurs when a doctor incorrectly diagnoses a condition or does not diagnose an issue. As a result, the patient may receive the wrong treatment or no treatment whatsoever. This has the potential to be extremely dangerous and cause significant harm to the patient depending on how severe the circumstances are.
Medication issues
There are a variety of different medication issues that may occur while in the hospital. This type of error could refer to a doctor prescribing the wrong medicine or not administering medication on schedule. These can be extremely costly mistakes that cause severe harm to the patient and routinely result in a malpractice lawsuit.
Incorrect treatment
This type of error may go together with a misdiagnosis. Incorrect treatments occur when a medical professional treats a patient incorrectly relative to their condition or gives the patient treatment that he or she did not need. These errors may result in a condition that did not previously exist or potentially a dangerous infection. Incorrect treatments can have catastrophic results and substantial harm to the patient.
Never events
These types of errors do not necessarily occur often, but they are some of the most notable mistakes a medical employee can make. A “never event” is the equivalent of a medical horror story. The term refers to mistakes that should “never” occur such as accidentally operating on the wrong body part or leaving a tool inside a patient’s body following surgery. These mistakes can be extremely dangerous and almost certainly lead to a medical malpractice suit.
If you suspect that you were harmed by a medical error, make sure to contact an experienced professional to give you the justice you deserve.
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