When you contract a disease or suffer an injury, it is natural to visit the doctor’s office for help. In doing so, you trust that they will do everything professionally possible to help you recover and get back on your feet. However, despite the advances in technology, medical negligence remains a serious problem throughout the U.S. But, how does medical negligence happen?
Here are some of the most common causes of medical negligence.
Improper diagnosis
Doctors rely on tests and symptoms to accurately diagnose a patient with an illness or an injury.
Misdiagnosis happens when your doctor tells you that you have a condition that you actually don’t. An example would be a lump on the breast that the doctor believes is benign, only to turn out cancerous.
A missed diagnosis happens when the doctor fails to detect your illness resulting in incorrect treatment or none at all. An example would be a case where the doctor diagnoses flu when you are actually suffering from something more serious like Lyme disease.
Errors during surgery
Errors during a surgical procedure can result in serious implications. For instance, a surgeon may apply the wrong technique or leave a surgical blade inside the patient after the operation.
A surgical error can also happen when the anesthetist administers too much or too little anesthesia before the procedure. Either error can be extremely harmful. Find out how you can pursue the compensation for damages if you or a loved one is a victim of medical error.
