Fighting for Your Rights Baltimore Medical Error Lawyers A hard-hitting Maryland or Washington D.C. attorney can get you the compensation you deserve
Medical malpractice refers to illnesses, injuries or deaths that result from a doctor, nurse, physician’s assistant, hospital or hospital administrative staff member failing to provide proper medical care to a patient. Medical malpractice does not refer to any instance in which a patient suffers unexpected complications or is unhappy with the outcome of his or her medical procedure. Notable and tangible negligence must be proven in order for a case to be brought against a medical provider or facility. While these instances are generally rare, they do happen and they usually involve one of a number of common medical errors, ranging from improper diagnosis and treatment to medication errors.
The medical malpractice attorneys at Schochor, Staton, Goldberg and Cardea, P.A. have years of experience litigating on behalf of victims of preventable medical errors in Washington D.C., Baltimore, and across Maryland.
Most common preventable medical errors
While medical errors encompass any aspect of medical care that causes an injury, illness or fatality as a result of inadequate standard of care or negligence, there are five medical errors that make up the bulk of medical malpractice litigations:
- Diagnosis errors. These include misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of a life-threatening condition. The most common medical malpractice case type, misdiagnosis, or delayed diagnosis case revolve around proving that the medical professional in question did not act in a way that would generally be accepted by others in his or her position.
- Childbirth injuries. Brain injuries, fractured bones and nerve palsy conditions can be the result of medical errors during childbirth. These errors generally fall into one of three categories: negligent prenatal care, negligence during childbirth and/or negligent neonatal care.
- Medication errors. Medication errors can include incorrect dosage or medication written on the script, incorrect administering of medication by a nurse or physician’s assistant, incorrect filling of script by the pharmacy and failures or malfunctions in equipment responsible for administering medication.
- Anesthesia errors. One of the most dangerous of all medical errors, anesthesia errors, can easily result in life-changing and fatal injuries. One small misstep in anesthesia can result in brain damage or fatality on the operating table. Examples of anesthesia errors include failure to inform patients of risks involved, failure to investigate medical and family history before administering anesthesia, overdosing the patient, failure to monitor vital signs for indications of trouble, improper intubation and mechanical malfunctions or failures.
- Surgery errors. These refer to errors that take place on the operating table and can include operating on the wrong body part, leaving surgical sponges and other equipment in the patient after surgery, puncturing internal organs and inadequate post-operative care administered by nurses or physician’s assistants.
Notable and measurable failure to provide an accepted standard of care must be proven in order to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit against a doctor, physician’s assistant, or hospital. A seasoned medical malpractice lawyer in Baltimore or Washington D.C. can help you determine whether your injury or complication was the result of negligence.
