Medical Mistakes: More Common Than You Realize

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “What if the medical condition improves before the hearing?”

 

When you go to the doctor or enter the hospital you expect professional care to help you feel better. Unfortunately, physicians and other medical professionals make mistakes from time to time. While most mistakes are minor and do not cause serious harm, sometimes an error can result in a severe injury. A negligent doctor should be held accountable when they cause harm to a patient. Medical mistakes are among the top five causes of death in the United States. If you or a loved one was harmed due to a mistake made by a medical professional, you may be owed compensation for your injuries. An experienced personal injury attorney will help determine whether a mistake was made and help you receive compensation from the negligent party.

 

medical-doctor-Charlotte-Mooresville-Monroe-Personal-Injury-Attorney-201x300What are the Most Common Medical Mistakes?

 

There are many types of medical mistakes that occur with some frequency. Some of the most common medical mistakes include:

 

  • Misdiagnosis
  • Failure to diagnose or delay in diagnosis
  • Medication errors
  • Hospital-acquired infections
  • Inadequate follow-up treatment
  • Anesthesia mistakes
  • Surgical errors
  • Technical medical mistakes

 

Mistakes can occur at any point during the treatment process. A doctor, nurse, medical technician, pharmacist, caregiver, or other professional might make an error that could result in harm to a patient. A medical error could cause you serious harm and thus result in physical, emotional, and financial damage.

 

How Often Do Medical Errors Happen?

 

Not all mistakes made in a hospital or by a doctor or pharmacy are negligent. A medical mistake must rise to the level of negligence in order to be compensable. However, medical professionals are held to a higher standard of care than average people. They have specific education, training, and experience that enables them to make better decisions about medical care. A Johns Hopkins study found that about 220,000 people a year die due to medical errors. That number could actually be as high as 440,000 due to lack of proper reporting. Before the pandemic, medical errors were the third highest cause of death in the United States. There are many examples of medical mistakes such as when a doctor misdiagnoses a  medical condition, prescribes the incorrect medication, or when a procedure is performed improperly. A medical mistake is also known as medical malpractice.

 

What to Do Following a Medical Mistake

 

If you suffered serious injuries due to a mistake made by a doctor, nurse, or other practitioner, the negligent party or parties should pay for your damages. Sadly, many medical mistakes occur without being reported. Many times a victim of a medical mistake is not aware of the problem or how it occurred. Sometimes the error does not show up in your medical reports or records. Therefore, it is important to contact a personal injury attorney in North Carolina as soon as possible. An experienced attorney will work quickly to gather information and data regarding your claim. Your lawyer will help you prove negligence to obtain compensation for your damages. Damages may be monetary or non-monetary.

 

If you or someone you love was harmed because of a medical mistake, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact our legal team as soon as possible to discuss the details of your claim. Call (704) 370-2828 to receive a video, phone or in-person consultation with our lawyers to explore your legal options or fill out our contact form. Now taking cases throughout North Carolina with offices in Uptown Charlotte, Mooresville and Monroe.

 

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The skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to maximizing the financial recovery and obtaining justice for every personal injury client injured by another party’s negligence. The issues our personal injury clients may be facing include, but are not limited to, slip and fall injuries, wrongful death, product liability, catastrophic injuries, dog bite claims, car and truck accident injuries, motorcycle injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), nursing home negligence, spinal cord injury, boating accidents, and defective medical device injury. Our personal injury attorneys understand the devastating impact such an injury can have on a person’s life, and that the effects so often go beyond physical pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to helping clients determine the strength of their claims, and to aggressively pursuing the means necessary to achieve the best possible end result for each client’s particular situation.

 

Source:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html

https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Medical+Malpractice

 

 

Image Credit

https://www.freeimages.com/photo/medical-doctor-1236694

 

 

See Our Related Video from our YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/ArnoldSmithPLLC/videos

 

 

See Our Related Blog Posts:

Is it Medical Malpractice if Your Surgery Was Postponed Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic?

 

Determining Medical Malpractice in North Carolina

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