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How to Identify Harm Caused by Medical Malpractice
While physicians and nurses are healers, they do not possess a superhuman ability to mitigate, let alone cure, all medical conditions. Nor are they empowered to prevent every type of harm that a patient could conceivably suffer. As a result of this reality, identifying what kinds of patient harm are – and are not – evidence of medical malpractice can be extremely difficult. After all, not every interaction with a patient ends in a favorable outcome and that is certainly not always the fault of healthcare providers.
With that said, more than enough unfavorable patient outcomes that do occur are caused by substandard care on the part of healthcare providers. As a result, it is important for those who are suffering in ways that may have been prevented to thoroughly investigate their circumstances. In the event that the harm in question was caused by an actionable mistake or another negligent approach to patient care, the affected living patient or a deceased patient’s surviving loved ones may have grounds upon which to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Are Staffing Concerns Fueling Inadequate Patient Safety Conditions?
Medical mistakes happen for a host of different reasons. Medical care providers are human, so they get distracted and they may harbor potentially harmful subconscious biases. Institutional policies, poorly-run facilities, and even assumptions can lead to consequential patient safety scenarios. For example, in one recent post, we discussed the ways in which an atypical presentation of symptoms related to five potentially-deadly conditions accounts for 40 percent of cases in which emergency room patients suffer permanent or fatal harm as a result of misdiagnosis.
When patient safety risks are not adequately addressed, rates of medication errors, emergency room errors, diagnostic errors, and a variety of other consequential harm tend to risk, spike, or even skyrocket. One recent survey seems to illustrate what has long been suspected: Inadequate staffing impacts patient safety in both perceivable and measurable ways.
The Role of Life Care Planners in Medical Malpractice Cases
It is not a secret that medical errors are now considered to be the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. Both fatal and non-fatal medical errors that occur due to substandard professional approaches are usually classified as medical malpractice incidents. Although not all medical errors are legally actionable, a patent who has suffered harm as a result of healthcare approaches that do not meet professional standards likely has grounds upon which to hold an offending healthcare provider or facility liable for malpractice.
Every patient’s story is unique and every patient who has suffered malpractice-related harm deserves justice. Yet, it is especially important to hold negligent providers accountable when someone’s harm is truly life-altering or life-ending.
When a patient has suffered non-fatal harm but their situation is serious enough that they will be struggling as a result of their circumstances for the rest of their life, the testimony of a life care planner may make a significant difference when it comes to convincing a jury of a patient’s need for significant financial restitution.
Biggest Patient Safety Threats of 2023
The kinds of risks that patients face ebb and flow as the healthcare industry evolves. While some forms of injurious harm – for example, patient falls – remain relatively constant, others shift as the medical profession and medical facilities adapt their practices to the times. It was not so long ago, for example, that more patient harm was caused by providers’ illegible handwriting than was caused by issues with error-ridden electronic medical records maintained by hospitals.
Understanding the kinds of risks that patients face most frequently at any time is valuable for two primary reasons. First, this knowledge can empower patients to self-advocate if they are on the lookout for certain kinds of risks and errors. Second, this knowledge can be beneficial in the aftermath of sustaining injuries or illnesses due to a provider’s negligence. By understanding that a certain complication may be a sign of a common type of mistake, patients will be more likely to seek legal guidance and explore their legal options accordingly.
Do I Have Grounds to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
Unfortunately, although egregious medical errors and other forms of medical negligence occur every day, relatively few victims of this form of professional negligence take advantage of their rights under the law. The fact that it is not always clear when medical malpractice has occurred is one of the primary reasons driving this reality.
For most people, “medical malpractice” is a vague legal term that is not easily applied to individual circumstances. This is understandable. This area of the law is both complex and highly contextual. As a result, unless a healthcare provider admits to making a mistake or it is clear that a preventable situation has gone terribly wrong, it is rarely easy to identify and respond to incidents of medical malpractice.
When Does Medical Malpractice Occur?
Medical malpractice occurs when a patient suffers harm while under the care of a healthcare professional, subject to specific legal and professional criteria. Generally speaking, if a healthcare provider – either by action or omission – causes a patient harm due to engaging in a professionally substandard level of care, medical malpractice has likely occurred.
Why Injury Victims Need to Beware of Social Media
There are a host of reasons why millions of Americans log on to social media platforms each and every day. From seeking support to connecting with others who share the same passions, getting the word out about important causes to catching up with loved ones, social media allows people to express themselves openly and instantly in the Digital Age’s version of a town square. Yet, not all activity on social media yields positive results. For example, injury victims need to take great care when engaging on social media platforms due to the unique risks that such activity poses while an injury-related legal case remains unresolved.
“Anything You Say Can and Will…”
Anyone who has ever watched a full season of a legal drama can probably recite the Miranda warnings by heart. The phrase “anything you say can and will be used against you” is the opening line of the Miranda warnings read to criminal defendants as they are being arrested. In a strange way, it can be very helpful for injury victims to keep this phrase in mind as they are engaging on social media while their personal injury lawsuit, insurance claim, and/or workers’ compensation benefits application remains pending.
Can Electronic Medical Record Mining Lead to Fewer Medical Errors?
In 2016, researchers from the prestigious Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine revealed that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Since that time, there has been considerable pressure on the medical profession to identify why so many errors are occurring and what can be done to mitigate this devastating trend.
Research and practical trials designed to answer these questions are ongoing. Additionally, many medical facilities are starting to implement new technologies to minimize the likelihood that errors will occur and to reduce the harm associated with any that do occur. Among the most promising innovations being widely embraced across the country in recent years involves the mining of electronic medical records.
What Mining Aims to Achieve
All too often, failures in communication, multitasking, and attempts to account for a wealth of information in the blink of an eye lead to errors. By mining a patient’s electronic medical records in specific ways, potential errors can be caught before they are fully realized.
Emergency Departments Misdiagnose Atypical Presentations Far Too Often
It is not difficult to imagine why a missed diagnosis or a delayed diagnosis could cost a patient dearly. When injuries are acute and illnesses are aggressive, a diagnostic error can cost a patient valuable time. Under the most extreme circumstances, an error made in an operating room, at the scene of an accident, or in an emergency department could cost a patient their life.
One of the primary reasons that diagnostic errors occur is that not every condition presents in the exact same way in every patient. For example, it has only been over the last 20 years or so that the medical community and the wider public have come to understand that heart attack symptoms tend to manifest very differently in women than they do in men.
Dismissing someone’s atypical manifestations of a serious condition can result in catastrophic consequences. Recently, it was revealed just how often misinterpretation of atypical symptoms in E.R. patients causes irreversible harm.
Can I Sue if a Doctor or Hospital Gave Me a Drug I Am Allergic To?
One of the first questions doctors, nurses, dentists, and other healthcare practitioners usually ask a new patient is whether the patient has any known drug allergies. If the patient knows about a drug allergy, he or she discloses it to the healthcare worker, who notes it in the patient’s charts so that future exposure to the drug can be avoided. Unfortunately, healthcare workers are often busy and stressed, and details about allergies can be difficult to pay attention to. Nevertheless, this is not an excuse for accidentally giving a patient a dangerous drug and triggering an allergic reaction. If you or a loved one suffered a serious allergic reaction due to negligent medical care, you may be able to bring a case for medical malpractice.
What Happens if Someone Takes a Drug They Are Allergic To?
Allergic reactions vary depending on the person and the severity of the allergy. Some symptoms are not very serious, while others can quickly become life-threatening. The most common symptoms of an allergic reaction to a drug include, but are not limited to:
Dogs Can Unexpectedly Attack Young Children
Most people feel as though their dog is a part of the family and provide their furry four-legged friend with close supervision and careful training. But even the best pet dogs can hurt young children, who are often not much bigger than the dogs, and when a dog becomes frightened, threatened, or aggressive, it can unexpectedly attack.
Over four and a half million people are bitten by dogs every year, and about 20 percent of those bitten need to see a doctor to get medical attention for their injuries. Children in particular are often severely injured and, in tragic cases, even killed in dog attacks. If you or your child have suffered an injury from a neighbor, friend, or family member’s dog, you may be facing a long and expensive recovery. Speak with an Illinois personal injury attorney who can help you determine whether a lawsuit could help you obtain compensation to help you pay for the costs of treatment and any other losses due to the attack.
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