People put a tremendous amount of trust in medical professionals, and you believe that they will use their expertise to provide the best level of care and treatment. Medical professionals have a duty of care that they must uphold, but this is not always the case and when care falls below this standard it can have serious implications on your health and wellbeing.
So, what are a few of the most common medical negligence issues that arise?
Misdiagnosis
Misdiagnosis is one of the most common medical negligence issues and one that can have serious implications. When you go to the doctor, you assume that they will be able to accurately diagnose what is wrong with you, but this does not always happen. This can result in someone being prescribed the wrong medication or form of treatment or they may misdiagnose which results in a condition worsening and potentially becoming life-threatening.
Surgical Negligence
You put a lot of trust in surgeons, but issues can arise here that can result in medical negligence claims being made. Errors during surgery or negligence with post-surgery both fall under this category and can have severe, long-term implications. As an example, an incorrect procedure might be carried out (such as an amputation), a costly error might occur that could have been avoided or an infection could develop.
Prescription Error
Sometimes, a doctor might make a prescription error such as prescribing the wrong medication, prescribing the wrong dosage or failure to note an allergy. Prescription errors can be dangerous in a few ways, including the health condition worsening and side effects from the wrong dosage/medication.
Pregnancy & Birth Injuries
Giving birth to a child is a life-changing moment and you place an enormous amount of trust in healthcare professionals during this time. In most cases, everything goes according to plan, but there can be pregnancy and birth injuries as a result of medical negligence. A few common examples of this include a midwife failing to monitor the health of the mother or baby, injury to the infant after birth or failed sterilization. Pregnancy and birth injuries can turn what should be the happiest day of your life into the worst, so this needs to be an area where medical professionals do not let you down.
These are a few of the more common medical negligence issues that arise but there are others. Medical professionals have a duty of care and when you are dealing with life and death it is vital that the standards of care do not fall, but this can happen. Hopefully, this will not be something that you ever experience but if you do then it is important to seek legal action to hold them accountable and to recover any damages.
