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Types of Medical Malpractice
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When you have to see your doctor, you trust that you’ll receive the highest quality care. But how do you protect yourself when something goes wrong? Every medical malpractice case is unique, and understanding the different types of medical malpractice can help you identify if you or a loved one were a victim and give you the answers you may need to weigh your legal options.
Misdiagnosis (or failure to diagnose, or delayed diagnosis)
Misdiagnosis is, by far, the most common type of medical malpractice seen today. This occurs when a medical professional falsely diagnoses a patient’s condition as the incorrect medical illness, delays a medical diagnosis for a long period of time, or fails to recognize a patient’s dangerous health condition at all.
A misdiagnosis can be caused by many unique factors, but it typically occurs when a medical professional misses an important sign that a “reasonable” doctor would have noticed. This can happen by overlooking symptoms, failing to run diagnostic tests, misinterpreting test results, or making an error while collecting data.
An incorrect diagnosis can lead to the victim receiving improper medication or treatment, which could cause unneeded medical bills, severe injury, or even death. Moreover, the longer a patient is left without proper treatment, the more severe the victim’s medical condition will get until it’s too late. In some cases, a doctor could eventually make the correct diagnosis before it’s too late, but any injuries caused by a delayed diagnosis would still be eligible for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Surgical errors
Despite the marvels of modern medical technology, many things can go wrong during a single surgery. And, unfortunately, things often do go wrong. For a medical malpractice case, however, your attorney must prove that the error your surgeon made caused significant injury and would have been avoided by a “reasonable” doctor with similar experience. Here are some examples of surgical errors that would usually be considered as malpractice.
- Administering too little or too much anesthesia. Too much anesthesia can cause a patient to experience a significant decrease in heart rate, develop brain damage, fall comatose, or even pass away.
- Failing to fully sanitize medical tools, or worse, leaving a medical object inside the patient’s body after surgery, can cause severe infections and potentially lead to sepsis if not quickly treated.
- Operating on a body part other than the treatment area or even, in rarer cases, performing the wrong surgery on the wrong person. Believe it or not, both of these can happen! Individual medical records can get mixed up in an unorganized back office, and a surgical team in a rush may not always carefully read what’s on the patient’s file.
- Providing inadequate medicinal treatment. This could mean administering the wrong medication, prescribing a dosage that either isn’t strong enough or too strong, creating a harmful drug or allergic interaction, or causing other errors.
Childbirth injury
Childbirth is an incredibly sensitive procedure, and medical professionals acting without a full sense of caution could alter a newborn baby’s life forever. Of course, many of the complications that occur during labor are uncontrollable and vary drastically, but a physician failing to uphold the expected “standard of care” throughout the process could be found liable for medical malpractice. Some complications that can occur due to negligence during childbirth are:
- The improper use of vacuum devices or delivery forceps (too much pressure, poor placement, forcing the device through, etc.) could create severe facial and brain conditions for newborn babies, including facial palsy, cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, skull fractures, nerve damage, eye trauma or other possible conditions. Reckless use of forceps or vacuum cups can also cause spinal cord trauma.
- Untreated fetal distress. Fetal distress occurs when an unborn baby, before or during labor, isn’t getting enough oxygen to the brain. If a medical professional fails to recognize the warning signs, such as an abnormal heart rate, cramping or bleeding, change in fetal movement, or sudden weight gain, this distress can create intense complications. If left untreated, a newborn baby could develop cerebral palsy, brain damage, cognitive and mental health disabilities, delayed motor functionality, or possible death.
- Inadequate prenatal care, or the failure to spot medical conditions that develop during pregnancy, can lead to lifelong complications for either mother or child. This can occur when an OBGYN or another medical professional fails to perform routine exams, follow up on an abnormal test result, or warn the mother about potential risks for her baby. Poor prenatal care could cause a birth defect, an ectopic pregnancy, or a non-contagious illness, like an STD, to go undetected for a long period of time.
Failure to treat in a timely manner (or inadequate treatment)
When medical facilities start seeing too many patients, it often means that the quality of treatment for existing patients will begin to suffer. Delaying important treatments, choosing to not perform routine tests, ignoring a patient’s medical history when determining a diagnosis or medication prescription, failing to provide follow-up care, and discharging a patient too early are all negligent actions that can be tried for medical malpractice.
File a medical malpractice claim
If you believe the hospital (or a specific doctor, surgeon, or nurse) that treated you failed to provide the care they owe you due to negligence, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit for medical malpractice to get compensated for your injuries or illness.
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See if you qualify to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Referenced Articles
- Vakharia, K. (2022, August 25). Death or brain damage from anaesthesia. Retrieved from https://patient.info/treatment-medication/anaesthesia/death-or-brain-damage-from-anaesthesia
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, November 28). Disinfection of Healthcare Equipment. Retrieved from (https://www.cdc.gov/infection-control/hcp/disinfection-sterilization/healthcare-equipment.html
View more sources
- Patel, R. et al. (2004, May 29). Forceps delivery in modern obstetric practice. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC420176/
- Ali, U. et al. (2009). Vacuum-Assisted Vaginal Delivery. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2672989/
- Aslam, H. et al. (2014, December 20). “Risk factors of birth asphyxia”. Retrieved from https://ijponline.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13052-014-0094-2
- Gillam-Krakauer, M. et al. (2023, August 14.) Birth Asphyxia. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430782/
- Jansheski, G. (2024, April 8). Delayed C-Section and Cerebral Palsy. Retrieved from https://www.cerebralpalsyguidance.com/cerebral-palsy/causes/delayed-c-section/
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