Healthcare professionals do not always understand how vulnerable a patient may feel when he or she pursues medical care, especially during and after a surgical procedure. Medical negligence is always a concern, even when the patient has been assured that the procedure is considered “routine” and that “there’s nothing to worry about.” The truth is, there are times when healthcare professionals do act negligently when it comes to surgical and post-surgical care of their patients, and patients can and do suffer injuries or disabilities due to this substandard care.
Medical malpractice injuries can range from moderate to severe and can even be fatal. A medical malpractice injury often significantly alters the patient’s quality of life. If rehabilitation services are needed, that can necessitate a lengthy stay, with distress and pain, and the added burden of expensive health care costs and treatment that may last for years or even a lifetime. If a patient is injured or disabled by a healthcare provider or doctor due to substandard care, he or she has a legal right to compensation.
There are several types of medical malpractice:
Labor or Birth Injury – Medical substandard care or negligence that takes place during pregnancy, birth or immediately after a child’s birth, resulting in severe injuries to the mother or infant. In many cases, the infant may be the victim of long term serious disabilities, such as cerebral palsy.
Surgical or Procedure Error – Medical substandard care or negligence from the action, or lack of action, by an anesthesiologist, nursing staff, surgeon or surgical resident that results in an injury or disability.
Misdiagnosis – Medical substandard care or negligence in which a patient is incorrectly diagnosed with a serious illness, leading to avoidable or extreme distress, or when he or she is not properly diagnosed in a timely manner with a serious illness that requires urgent treatment.
Anyone who suspects they are the recipient of medical malpractice should work with an experienced medical malpractice or personal injury attorney to determine if their medical professionals fully met the accepted standard of care.
