When you hear the phrase “medical malpractice,” what do you picture? In all likelihood, most people will think of a surgical error or a doctor botching a basic procedure. These are obvious cases of medical malpractice, and just because they are the newsworthy and eye-catching, it doesn’t make them any less legitimate as cases. But what these examples do is obscure the other equally legitimate cases that qualify as medical malpractice and that what many people suffer from every year.
What kinds of cases are we talking about? Well, take a look at this list:
- Medication errors. People can be given the wrong medication in a hospital or at a pharmacy, leading to catastrophic or fatal reactions.
- Misdiagnoses. Doctors and medical professionals make mistakes when diagnosing a patient all the time. This can also include failing to diagnose someone at all.
- Anesthesiology. Mistakes administering anesthesia to a patient could kill a patient.
- Lacking informed consent. If a doctor doesn’t get informed consent from a patient for a procedure, they can be held liable for medical malpractice.
- Substandard care. If the care that a patient receives falls below the medically-accepted standard, then a lawsuit is possible.
The bar is set very high for medical professionals because they perform their jobs in a highly specialized and delicate field. Without these standards, the patients that are treated at doctor’s offices, hospitals and other medical facilities would be at a severe risk. When the care these medical professionals provides fails to meet the standard, legal measures must be taken.
