When we seek out help from a medical professional, we expect to receive a reasonable level of care and attention. More often than not, we are provided an adequate diagnosis and treatment plan to help us recover. But, there are times when medical professionals make errors or fail to act appropriately, and their mistakes result in serious injuries. Misdiagnosis, errors in treatment and mistakes made during the administration of medicine can have serious consequences. Medical malpractice is relatively common and it can sometimes be fatal.
Here are a few common types of medical malpractice:
- Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose – The best way to treat and recover from a serious condition is to receive an early and accurate diagnosis. When there is a failure to accurately diagnose a heart condition or cancer, it can lead to fewer treatment options.
- Anesthesia errors – Giving too much or too little anesthesia before surgery can have serious consequences. Some patients have an increased risk of liver damage from anesthesia because of a prior treatment. There are many ways for an anesthesia error to prove fatal.
- Birth injuries – There are many ways for children to suffer harm because of mistakes made before, during and immediately after childbirth. Malpractice claims commonly result from the misuse of forceps, delays in performing cesarean sections and failures to notice serious issues such as umbilical cord prolapses.
- Failure to treat – It’s the responsibility of medical professionals to notice symptoms of serious conditions and to act accordingly. For example, when a patient is suffering from abdominal pain, the doctor must determine if the patient has appendicitis and requires surgery.
- Medications errors – Prescribing and administering the wrong drug can have immediate and long-term consequences.
If you believe that your doctor made an egregious error and that mistake caused you actual harm, seek out support from a New York City malpractice attorney right away. Financial compensation may be available for your medical bills, pain and suffering and other related damages. Contact Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP at (212) 986-7353.