Chances are when you think about medical malpractice, you imagine a medical error that occurred on the surgical table. However, the most common medical malpractice claims are misdiagnosis.
What’s the Impact of Medical Diagnosis Errors?
According to a study done by BMJ Quality and Safety, over 12million patients who go for outpatient medical care receive a misdiagnosis. This figure represents means that 1 out of 20 patients or 5% if adults receive a misdiagnosis.
How Common is Misdiagnosis?
Patients with serious conditions constitute about 10-20% of misdiagnosed cases.
44% of certain types of cancers are misdiagnosed every year. The most commonly misdiagnosed cancers are breast cancer, thyroid cancer and prostate cancer.
51% of breast imaging second opinions lead to a different interpretation.
The Reasons Why Misdiagnosis Occurs
You expect a high standard of care when you visit a hospital. If you have been a victim of misdiagnosis, it’s important to understand why a misdiagnosis occurs in the first place. Below are some reasons why:
Improper Training for Advanced Diseases
A person going to see a doctor expects the doctor to know all the different kinds of diseases that there are. With that being said, there are tens of thousands of diseases out there and it’s possible that a doctor may not be aware of advanced or mysterious diseases. Therefore, it comes as no surprise when a doctor mistakes symptoms of a mysterious disease with that of another. However, doctors are supposed to thoroughly test a patient because many diseases share the same symptoms.
Ordering an Improper Test for a Patient
A doctor will order a test depending on the symptoms described by a patient. It’s therefore possible for a doctor to miss an underlying issue if they order for tests based on a patient’s description of their symptoms.
The Symptoms are Similar to Other Medical Conditions
Minor and major health conditions can display similar symptoms that can be confusing. A doctor will rarely perform further tests if they believe your condition is a minor one when in reality it could be a real problem. By the time your doctor realizes that they made a misdiagnosis, a patient may already be in critical condition.
Doctors are Human
Doctors also make mistakes just like everyone else. The only problems is making errors in the medical field could lead to some serious consequences.
Other Types of Medical Malpractice Claims
Anesthesia and Surgical Errors
An example of a surgical error is a “never event”. This means that your surgeon accepts that the error should never have occurred in the first place. An example here would be a surgeon leaving a sponge inside your body or operating on the wrong body part.
Anesthesia errors include the anesthesiologist giving you the wrong amount of anesthesia or failing to monitor your vital signs while administering the anesthesia.
Medication Errors
A health care provider can be held liable for providing wrong medication or making a mistake during the prescription process.
Birth Injuries
If a medical professional fails to meet the adequate standard of care, their actions can lead to lifelong injuries to a new born or cause harm to the mother.
Who can be Sued for Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice claims are not limited to doctors only; it also applies to anyone else directly related to making a decision that directly caused harm to you. However, you will be tasked with the burden of proving that all the entities involved should be held liable. Below is a list of entities that can be sued in a court of law for medical malpractice
Hospitals
A hospital can be held liable for the negligence of an employee; also known as vicarious liability. A hospital is a corporation and it can be held liable for its actions and that of its employees.
A hospital first of all is obligated to ensure that they hire licensed health care providers who have proper training. They must verify the health care provider is properly trained in a recognized institution by making reasonable inquiries.
Failure to verify this information could lead to a hospital being sued for negligent supervision if a health care worker’s negligent actions lead to the injury of a patient. For example, if a hospital is aware that an attending physician is incompetent but still allowed him to attend to patients then it can be held liable for its own negligence.
Hospitals are also obligated to ensure that they employ enough registered nurses to be on duty at all times to ensure quality patient care is maintained. If a patient is harmed because there was a lack of sufficient nurses on duty then the hospital can be sued for medical malpractice.
Additionally, if a hospital employee did not follow the orders of a patient’s doctor or they found a doctor’s treatment plan to be contraindicated but they didn’t make an inquiry into the treatment plan, then the hospital can also be sued for malpractice.
If a doctor’s malpractice injures you, the hospital might be held liable for the doctor’s negligent acts.
In some situations, your doctor might be an independent contractor which means the hospital cannot be held liable.
Pharmaceutical Companies
If a pharmaceutical manufacturer failed to warn doctors of their drug’s potential dangers and as a result you got injured after using the drug, then you can file a medical malpractice claim against the company.
The manufacturer won’t be directly liable for your injuries because their primary duty is to health care workers. Their main duty is to ensure that the drugs they manufacture are going to be used as intended and that they are safe.
They should conduct several tests to ensure the drug’s safety and to adequately warn physicians of the possible side effects.
With that being said, a doctor is considered to have superior medical knowledge and therefore is in a better position to determine which drug works best for their patient. They are able to make this decision based on the information the drug manufacturer has communicated to them about the drug.
The doctor in turn must advise you the risks of taking the medication as prescribed by them.
Get Your Medical Malpractice Claim Evaluated by an Attorney
If you have a medical malpractice claim but are not sure who should be held liable, we can discuss all aspects of your case and advise you the next steps you should take. If you live in Plymouth, MA, can call us at 508-746-2700 to schedule your free initial consultation.
