When you’ve been affected by a medical error, it can impact your daily life as it can significantly reduce your finances or leave you with physical harm. These usually come from some form of medical negligence with a professional letting you down. This can happen through misdiagnosis, surgical procedure errors or something else, which can all impact your life in different ways. It’s important to be aware of the different types of medical negligence, so you can know if you’ve been a victim.
This guide will explore the main types of medical negligence, providing you with the knowledge you need to know if you have Been Let Down by a professional. Continue reading to find out more.
Types of Medical Negligence
Surgical Errors
There’s nothing worse than going for a routine surgery that ends in disaster. While all surgery carries inherent risks, surgical negligence refers to avoidable mistakes that no competent surgeon should make. The most common reasons for surgical errors include:
- Foreign Objects: Using the wrong tools.
- Wrong-Site Surgery: Making incisions to the incorrect area.
- Nerve Damage: Cutting and hitting a nerve that can cause physical harm.
- Post-Operative Infections: Not treating wounds correctly after the surgery.
Misdiagnosis
This is the most common type of medical negligence and usually results in victims contacting a medical malpractice solicitor. It occurs when a doctor either fails to identify a condition entirely or incorrectly diagnoses it as something else. A delay in diagnosing serious conditions like cancer or heart disease can lead to a patient missing the window for effective treatment, potentially turning a treatable illness into a terminal one. This is a very serious type of misdiagnosis and can significantly affect the quality of life of the patient.
Prescription Errors
Medication errors represent a significant category of medical negligence that can occur at various points in a patient’s care. These claims arise from four critical failures, such as administering an incorrect dosage, providing the wrong medication entirely or an allergy oversight where a professional ignores a patient’s sensitivities. Negligence often happens where a new prescription reacts dangerously with a patient’s existing medication, potentially leading to life-threatening complications.
Birth Injuries
Injuries during birth are the most sensitive and can be very high-value claims, as they have such a huge impact on the family that can last a lifetime. Negligence during pregnancy or labor can happen in several ways with failure to monitor being the most common. This involves not noticing signs of fetal distress like dropping heart rates. Other types of negligence include oxygen deprivation and traumatic birth, which can cause physical injury to the mother or child.
Failure to Warn
Every patient has the right to know the risks of a procedure before agreeing to it. If a surgeon performs an operation without explaining a significant risk and that risk actually happens, the patient may have a claim for lack of informed consent. Even if the surgery itself was performed perfectly, they still need to let you know of any risks involved before they start to give you a clear outline so you can decide if it’s right for you.
