Doctors and other medical professionals go through years of education and training in order to become proficient in their areas of medicine. Because of the extensive effort that these individuals must put into learning their profession, you and most other patients trust your doctors to perform their duties properly. Of course, you are also aware that even professionals make mistakes.
Unfortunately, even a slight medical error could have severe impacts on a patient. In worst cases, patients could even die as a result of such mistakes. While you may hope that you and your loved ones will avoid such scenarios, you may not find yourself so lucky. If you suffer severe injuries or lose a loved one in such an incident, you may want to review your legal options.
Common causes for concern
There are many mistakes that are, disturbingly, considered common among medical professionals that could prove fatal. In fact, some studies believe that medical errors should rank third when it comes to leading causes of death. Some errors that take place more often than they should include the following:
- Wrong patient operations: Doctors could perform surgical procedures on the wrong patient when mix ups with records and communication occur. Though patients may be able to recover, they could also suffer fatal outcomes.
- Lack of proper hygiene: Even when doctors and other staff members wear latex gloves, it remains important for them to wash their hands before putting on the gloves. Germs on hands can still penetrate latex, which puts patients at risk of infections and other complications when staff do not wash their hands.
- Medication errors: When medical staff members give patients the wrong medication or the wrong dosage, allergic reactions or overdoses with adverse effects could easily occur.
- Premature removal of breathing tubes: For some procedures or conditions, patients may need breathing tubes. If a doctor or other staff member removes the tube too early, the patient could have difficulty breathing, resulting in a lack of oxygen that could cause severe or fatal damage.
These issues represent only a few errors that could occur that lead to serious or even fatal outcomes.
Addressing the negative effects
If you suffered severe harm or lost a loved one due to any of these or other medical errors, you may have reason to pursue compensation. Filing a medical malpractice claim could allow you to seek justice and monetary recompense for the damages resulting from the situation.