8 Signs Your a Victim of Medical Malpractice

Medical negligence involving incorrect drug dosages, surgical errors, and misdiagnosis happens all of the time in the healthcare field. Unfortunately, it’s the patients who suffer the consequences of medical malpractice.

According to a study by Johns Hopkins Medicine, nearly 250,000 fatalities occur each year due to medical errors. Patients and their families put their trust in medical professionals to help them feel better, not worse. But the reality is…mistakes happen.

However, when such serious errors occur, recompense is required. With that said, take a look at the content below to learn the common signs of medical malpractice.

What Is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice refers to negligence on the behalf of a medical professional. It involves a physician making a mistake that causes an injury or leads to specific damages.

Before a medical malpractice claim can move forward, there has to be proof that a doctor-patient relationship existed. Once that is proved, a legal team can move forward with substantiating a patient’s claims of medical malpractice due to the error of a  physician

View more here to learn about medical malpractice and receiving legal counsel from an attorney.

Signs of Medical Negligence

There are a few telltale signs that will let you know if you’re a victim of medical malpractice. Here are a few of them:

Your Condition Worsens

One of the major signs of medical malpractice is a worsening condition. If you undergo treatment or surgery and the problem gets worse instead of better, that may be a sign of medical malpractice. The purpose of undergoing medical treatment is to improve your health condition.

Therefore, it’s in your best interest to speak to your doctor if your condition doesn’t improve or worsens. Sometimes there’s a recovery period before your condition improves, so don’t automatically think there’s an error on your physician’s part.

You Experience Additional Ailments

If you undergo surgery and start experiencing pain and discomfort, that might be cause for concern. Many times if a physician makes a mistake, it’ll cause damage to other parts of your body. In that case, you may have the basis to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Understaffed Medical Facility

Unfortunately, hospitals and medical facilities run short on staff members. When this happens, it puts an extra workload on the available staff. As a result, employees are overworked, and it increases the risk of errors.

There have been instances of surgical tools being left inside of patients during surgery, as well as other horrific mistakes.  These circumstances aren’t intentional, so there is no malice intended. However, it’s categorized as negligence that causes harm to the patient.

Diagnosis from Lab Results

When a physician diagnoses a patient solely based on lab results, that’s usually a sign of medical malpractice. A patient must be heard and their symptoms taken into consideration before receiving a final diagnosis.

Lab tests aren’t always enough for a medical professional to make a decision on a diagnosis. Doing so could cause them to give you the wrong treatment. A medical professional must know exactly what’s wrong with you before performing surgery or any other medical services.

Your Physician Doesn’t Listen to Your Concerns

After treatment or surgery, if your physician refuses to hear you out, that is a sign of medical malpractice. Any new complications that you are experiencing should be taken seriously by your physician.

If your symptoms are ignored and your condition worsens, that could cause permanent damage or even death. Also, if your doctor is not listening to your concerns, it’s time to reach out to a medical malpractice lawyer.

You Receive Different Second Opinion

Another sign of medical malpractice is a different physician giving you a different diagnosis. If you believe that your medical physician is wrong and they are, that’s a problem. This is especially true if they started treatment on you based on an incorrect medical opinion.

Medication Errors

Another huge component that plays into medical malpractice is medication errors. If your physician prescribes you the wrong drugs and it triggers an allergic reaction, that’s part of negligence. Your doctor has to consider all other medications that you’re on and determine whether or not those meds will negatively interact.

Sometimes a doctor may also prescribe the incorrect dosage, which leads to further complications or inadequate treatment. This type of scenario happens a lot in hospitals. The incorrect drug is given to a patient that’s meant for another individual.

Sadly, these types of errors can be damaging to your health or even deadly. In that case, a medical malpractice lawsuit should be filed.

Emergency Room Mistakes

The ER gets chaotic at times and workers go from patient to patient. Emergency room care must include obtaining accurate medical history, and an in-depth description of what’s going on with the patient. Sadly, serious medical conditions are often overlooked when patients go to the hospital.

Some of the most serious conditions that are often missed are heart attacks, strokes, infections, and appendicitis. All of these medical conditions lead to deteriorating health or fatality.

Overcoming Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is a serious matter. When you’ve been hurt by your physician— intentionally or non-intentionally— it’s in your best interest to file a lawsuit. Medical negligence can cause serious pain and anguish, which requires correction and compensation.

If you believe that you’re the victim of medical negligence call a lawyer as soon as possible.

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