When you visit a doctor or hospital, you expect to get help for your health issues. Patients do not expect to end up in worse condition than they were before the treatment. Unfortunately, thousands of victims of medical malpractice suffer devastating consequences every year. In fact, recent data shows that roughly 400,000 hospital patients experience some type of preventable medical harm each year.
Medical malpractice can sometimes be difficult to prove, but there are some errors that are pretty clear examples of malpractice. Dive into the details below to learn about five common errors that may result in a medical malpractice lawsuit in Jacksonville.
Common Causes of Medical Malpractice
There are many types of medical malpractice that may ultimately lead to a lawsuit. However, here are five errors that will almost certainly result in a lawsuit.
1. Surgical Errors
This category of errors encompasses a wide range of potential behavior, and a “surgical error” occurs when a doctor makes a mistake before, during, or after surgery. Some surgical errors are so egregious that they are almost beyond belief.
For instance, imagine a doctor removing the wrong kidney or amputating the wrong limb. However, these types of errors happen much more often than most people realize.
Another common surgical error is leaving behind equipment or other material inside the patient. This can cause infections and other serious complications. Plus, another surgery is usually required to remove the object.
2. Medication Errors
Prescribing or administering the wrong medication can have dire consequences. Most people don’t think twice about taking medication that is given to them by a hospital or pharmacy. However, that medication could be the wrong dosage, could interact with other medications you already take, or it might be the wrong medicine altogether.
Doctors, hospitals, and pharmacists could be held liable for medication errors and any resulting injuries you may suffer. However, if the medicine itself is defective and the doctor did not know it, you may have a product liability claim instead of one for medical malpractice.
3. Misdiagnosis
Doctors usually do their best to diagnose your medical condition based on the information they have. However, a misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis could be detrimental. In some cases, it might even be fatal.
Imagine that you arrive at the hospital with symptoms of stomach pain and weight loss. The doctor fails to run any additional diagnostic tests and diagnoses you with a simple stomach virus.
Your symptoms persist, and you ultimately find out that you have cancer. Delayed treatments could allow the cancer to metastasize, and the doctor could end up facing a wrongful death lawsuit.
4. Anesthesia Errors
When a patient undergoes anesthesia, they must be closely monitored. Even a small problem can have devastating consequences. Failure to appropriately administer the anesthesia could result in the patient waking up during surgery or getting sick after waking up. In severe cases, other medical complications, including cardiac arrest, could occur.
5. Birth Injuries
Complications during labor and delivery result in a number of birth injuries every year. In some cases, mistakes by the doctor or hospital cause these problems.
Some common mistakes that may lead to birth injuries are:
- Failure to identify a high-risk pregnancy
- Not performing a C-section when necessary
- Failure to refer to patient to a specialist
- Using the wrong tools during the delivery process
- Not adequately monitoring both the mother and baby during labor
Unfortunately, some babies suffer permanent effects from a birth injury. Mothers may also be victim to errors made during the delivery process.
Filing a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Florida
In Florida, certain requirements must be met before you can file a lawsuit for medical malpractice. These requirements aim to reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits filed, and they are also intended to help keep health care costs lower for all Floridians.
Before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, an injured victim must:
- Complete an investigation
- Obtain an opinion from a medical expert that there are sufficient grounds for the lawsuit
- Notify the defendant via certified mail
- Wait 90 days for the insurance company to respond
If your claim is rejected or you are unable to reach a settlement, you may proceed with your lawsuit. Remember that you only have two years from the date of your injury to file a lawsuit for damages. Missing this deadline can cause you to lose all your rights to recover compensation.
Damages Available to Medical Malpractice Victims
Medical malpractice victims are entitled to recover both economic and non-economic damages.
Common examples of damages available in these claims are:
- The cost of your original medical expenses
- Costs associated with any additional required medical treatments
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
- Diminished future earning capacity
- Loss of consortium
An experienced lawyer can help you identify all the damages you may be owed after a medical malpractice accident.
Contact Our Jacksonville Medical Malpractice Lawyers for a Free Consultation
If you have been hurt by medical malpractice, contact the experienced team at Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers today. These cases are notoriously difficult to pursue, but we have the experience and resources necessary to help you.
We can investigate the details of your situation to determine exactly what happened and how you were affected. Call us at (904) 396-1100 now to schedule a free consultation with a Jacksonville medical malpractice lawyer.
