As regular readers of our San Antonio Legal Blog know, we regularly focus on medical negligence issues of importance to veterans and veterans’ families. These issues are not limited to those who have served in our nation’s military, however.
The health care industry is booming, with rapid growth in care providers. With the growth comes problems, unfortunately, as physicians, nurses and others are too often unwilling to pay attention to the details of patient care so important in modern medicine. The result can be preventable mistakes that cause serious harm to patients.
A recent news article broke the different types of medical malpractice cases into four categories: misdiagnosis, surgical errors, medication errors and birth injuries.
The first (and most common) type of malpractice involves misdiagnosis. The term “misdiagnosis” covers several types of circumstances. It can mean a doctor failed to diagnose a critical health condition or mistakenly diagnosed a condition or made a delayed diagnosis.
- Misdiagnosis often involves serious conditions, including the following:
- Stroke
- Heart attack
- Cancer
- Infection
Another category of medical negligence involves surgical errors. Though these mistakes are relatively rare, it typically has devastating impacts on patient health. These errors are so rare that they are termed “never events.”
Unfortunately, surgical errors do occur, despite the “never” moniker.
Medication errors are more common, often involving prescriptions inappropriate for a condition, or in doses too large or too small to benefit a patient.
Birth injuries can involve matters such as the following:
- Cerebral palsy / Erb’s palsy
- Maternal hypertension
- Undiagnosed gestational diabetes
- Perinatal asphyxia
Medical malpractice cases can be heartbreaking. Not only is there physical harm to the patient, but in many cases that damage is followed by loss of employment or wages and financial devastation.
Contact an attorney experienced in medical malpractice litigation to discuss maximum compensation for damages and your legal options.
