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Medical Errors

By Beth Janicek

Since Injury Board is dedicating the month of August to surgeries I thought medical errors would be a good topic.

Medical errors should not happen but occasionally they do and the injured should be compensated. There are several reasons medical malpractice lawsuits are filed. There are medication errors, misdiagnosis errors, surgical errors, birth injuries, and anesthesia errors.

Medication errors can include administration of incorrect medication, incorrect dosage of medication, incorrect diagnosis by a doctor or pharmaceutical error.

When misdiagnosis occurs the medical problem being treated can often be more harmful to the patient. The wrong treatment may be given and useful diagnostic tests may not be done. Also, a doctor can misinterpret the tests results also resulting in a misdiagnosis or improper treatment.

Surgical errors, unfortunately happen way too often. Patients can become infected due to instruments and/or operating rooms not being sterilized completely and efficiently. Organs can be punctured and surgeries can be performed on the wrong body part or wrong side of the body. Although due to past medical negligence claims I think the latter is not happening as frequently. The last time I was with a family member in a hospital setting, every nurse/doctor that came in to examine him asked a series of questions:

1. What is your name?

2. What is your date of birth?

3. What are you having surgery on today?

Mistakes are not allowed on the surgical table and should not happen.

Injuries while birthing can include delayed Caesarean, breech deliveries, and placenta abruptions and can result in mental retardation, autism, epilepsy, Erbs palsy and cerebral palsy. While the birth of your child is supposed to be the happiest time of your life often times due to medical neglect it can turn into your worst nightmare.

In the operating room, anesthesia errors are most frequently due to human error causing paralysis, strokes, heart problems, seizures and sometimes death. Anesthesiologists need to show vigilance while administering anesthesia to prevent negligence.

Due to emergency rooms high volume of patients resulting in high stress levels, medical errors occur more frequently in the emergency room. Diagnosis errors are the most common examples of medical negligence in the emergency room. Our office is currently litigating several cases due to diagnosis errors resulting in death.

Even the best doctors and nurses can make mistakes but it is rare. Human error happens in the medical field and if it has happened to you and your family there are options available to hold the doctor, nurse or hospital accountable for their medical error. Our office is actively litigating medical malpractice and negligence claims. If you should have any questions regarding medical negligence or if you feel you may have a medical malpractice claim, contact my office.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

Full post as published by San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyer on August 07, 2008 (boomark / email).