What Are the Most Common Types of Medical Malpractice?

 Posted on February 27, 2023 in Medical Malpractice

While medical malpractice cases are comparatively rare, they are common enough that they make up between 2 and 3 percent of annual healthcare spending and constitute around 60 billion dollars in payouts and legal expenses. The vast majority of these cases arise from preventable errors or mistakes and the effect on the person to whom the malpractice happens can be deeply physically and psychologically damaging. In some cases, medical malpractice can threaten or take a patient’s life. 

If you suffered or have a loved one who passed away in a medical malpractice incident, it is important to know that you may have legal options for recovering well-deserved compensation. And if you are not sure whether your case involves medical malpractice, understanding more about common malpractice cases and scheduling a free consultation with an attorney can help. 

Common Medical Malpractice Cases

Medical malpractice can range from the seemingly smallest actions - such as failing to obtain a patient’s blood type - to catastrophic mistakes with disastrous outcomes - such as amputating a limb on the wrong side of the body. The most extreme cases are statistical outliers, however, and most medical malpractice cases can be grouped into categories. The five most common types include: 

• Incorrect or delayed diagnosis - Roughly 30 percent of medical malpractice claims arise from a physician who misinterpreted a test result, read a scan incorrectly, simply failed to recognize the symptoms of an illness, or committed another act that resulted in a wrong or delayed diagnosis. 

• Untreated illness or injury - When a patient visits a doctor or hospital and does not get the tests they need, has their symptoms ignored or brushed off, is discharged from the hospital before they are ready, or is otherwise left untreated, it may be medical malpractice. 

• Surgical mistakes - A surprising number of malpractice incidents arise from mistakes during surgery, including cases where physicians have left tools inside patients’ bodies, performed surgery on the wrong patient or wrong part of a patient’s body, or wrongly administered anesthesia. 

• Drug mistakes - Millions of prescription drugs are administered every year in the U.S., but when a doctor gives a patient the wrong medicine, fails to warn them of side effects, gives a drug the patient is allergic to, or gets the dosage wrong, it may be malpractice. 

Call a Schaumburg, IL Medical Malpractice Injury Lawyer

No matter how it happens, an incident of medical malpractice is shocking and unpredictable. If you have been injured because of a doctor’s carelessness, you deserve compensation to help you recover from your injuries and get the best chance of getting back to normal. Call Newland & Newland, LLP at 847-797-8000 to schedule a free consultation with one of our Palatine, IL medical malpractice attorneys and get more information about your case in a free consultation. 

Source: 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470573/