Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or other healthcare professional acts negligently and harms their patient as a result. Here are the most common types of medical malpractice.
- Medication errors. Prescription medications can treat many types of illnesses and have prolonged many people’s lives. However, if these medications aren’t used properly, they can have disastrous results. Common types of medication errors include prescribing the wrong medication, prescribing the incorrect dosage and failing to recognize dangerous drug interactions.
- Misdiagnosis. A large percentage of medical malpractice claims result from misdiagnosis. If a doctor diagnoses a patient with the wrong condition, the patient may receive unnecessary treatments or prevent timely treatment. Misdiagnosis can occur when a doctor doesn’t recognize certain symptoms or fails to order additional testing.
- Surgical errors. Surgery is necessary to treat certain conditions, such as chronic knee pain and cancer. However, if surgeons and other staff don’t exercise proper care, patients are more likely to suffer harm. Surgical errors include operating on the wrong body part, leaving medical instruments inside the patient’s body, operating on the wrong patient and administering too much or too little anesthesia.
- Birth injuries. As a medical malpractice lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT can attest, birth injuries are another type of malpractice. Many parents are excited for the birth of their child and can’t imagine anything going wrong. Unfortunately, if proper precautions aren’t taken, it can. Birth injuries can result from failure to recognize fetal distress, improper use of forceps, poor prenatal care and failure to perform a C-section when necessary.
