Common Examples of Medical Negligence

Medical negligence is defined as an act/omission by a medical professional that isn’t accepted as the traditional standard of care. This could be by a doctor, nurse, dentist, or any other health care worker. To understand the concept fully, you need to know what sort of situations fall under it.

Below, we are going to look at six of the most common examples of medical negligence. Want to learn more? Then keep on reading.

Surgery Mistakes

Mistakes can happen, but once in a while, an instance occurs that may be classified as negligence. This could include operating on a wrong body part or even leaving surgical equipment inside. While it’s not always possible to avoid these mistakes, you can take extra care to find the right doctor for you by checking their track record. You may also search around and ask for opinions from family and friends.

Misdiagnosis

Misdiagnosis occurs when a doctor fails to diagnose a condition or interprets it as something else for an extended period of time. This could mean that the patient is treated incorrectly and suffers harm as a result.

This type of negligence case can be one of the hardest to prove, as accidents in the medical field do happen. However, if another reliable doctor would not have made the same mistake, the person at fault may be liable for malpractice.

Medication Errors

Medication errors are one of the most common forms of medical negligence. A patient may be prescribed the wrong drug, administered something they were allergic to, or given an improper dosage. They may have even been given a harmful drug that should not have been used. You can check out this list of dangerous medications for more information.

Birth-Related Injuries

Birth-related injuries that may be negligence are summed up in three different areas, which include:

Mother or infant birth injuries: Injury, illness, or death resulting from medical negligence. This could be due to misdiagnosis, fractures, internal bleeding, or other complications caused by a medical professional.

Wrongful pregnancy: Occurs when parents try to avoid pregnancy, but the method fails. This can include sterilization and abortion.

Wrongful birth: Claims that deal with birth defects that would have influenced parents to avoid or terminate the pregnancy.

Informed Consent

Every patient has the right to give consent about treatment done to their body. If a doctor fails to obtain authorization for non-emergency treatment, they can potentially be charged with battery. It could also be that they didn’t disclose the risks involved with the procedure. In order to prove this case, you need evidence to show that you suffered a harmful consequence (emotional or physical) due to this or would not have agreed if you knew the full circumstances.

Anesthesia Errors

While anesthesia errors might not be the most common type of medical negligence case on this list, they still happen quite frequently. They occur when an anesthesiologist fails to identify risk factors, gives the wrong amount of anesthesia, or uses faulty equipment.