Medical Errors Are Deadlier Than You Think
Posted April 6th, 2018 by Anthony Carbone, PC.
Categories: Personal Injury.
At the hospital, you should feel safe, but recent reports suggest that the number of people who suffer maltreatment caused by medical errors is much higher than previously believed. When someone is injured or dies because of a medical error, someone must be held accountable to compensate the injured patient or the family of the loved one.
Contacting an experienced attorney to evaluate the facts and circumstances of your case should be the first thing on your mind when you’re the victim of medical error. You may be entitled to considerable compensation.
Medical Errors
Doctors and nurses are praised for the work they do, but they are human beings just like you and me. And, human beings sometimes make mistakes. When a medical professional has been working for a lengthy period of time, fatigue can occur along with a lack in concentration. This can lead to critical mistakes.
In other instances, hospital policies are to blame for the mistakes that doctors make. For example, when a doctor or nurse comes in to begin their day, they must rely on charts and medical records created by those working earlier shifts to do their jobs. Inaccurate records can give a doctor the wrong picture of a patient’s condition, and this can lead to serious injury and possibly even death. This is known as preventable medical error.
Studies indicate that preventable medical errors result in nearly 400,000 deaths in the United States each year, which is similar to amount of deaths associated with smoking each year. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., second only to heart disease and cancer. Some of the most common medical errors include:
- Misdiagnosis
- Surgical blunders
- Failure to follow up with treatment
- Too much or too little Anesthesia
- Incorrect medication(s)
Compensation for Medical Error Injuries
If you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to a medical error, you are entitled to file a medical malpractice claim in order to hold the person or persons financially accountable for the error(s) they made. In order for your medical malpractice claim to move forward, you will be required to establish both the injury and how it was caused.
The process goes as follows. The injury must be acknowledged by a medical expert, followed by the cause of the injury being determined. If direct negligence on the part of the medical professional cannot be determined or established, it must be proven that the injury could have been avoided.
If proof of a medical error can be established, the victim (and their family) is entitled to recover the following damages:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Past and future lost wages and income
- Compensation for pain and suffering; other intangible losses
With all that being said, medical malpractice claims can be complex and the only way to move forward with your life is with the help of an experienced and successful attorney.
If you are the victim of any type of injury and need help recouping the damages necessary to move on with your life, contact the Law Offices of Anthony Carbone today for a free consultation. We look forward to helping you in your time of need.
