March 28, 2019
There are millions of people who live in the Chicago and the surrounding metropolitan area, and many of them will require significant medical treatment at some point in their lives. Although we all almost universally expect that the medical care we receive from doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals will be top-notch, our readers who are familiar with previous posts here know that isn’t always the case. Medical malpractice occurs with alarming frequency in America. So, if you are worried about the worst-case scenario, what type of medical malpractice do you have to worry about?
To begin, misdiagnosis is one of the most common forms of medical malpractice. When a misdiagnosis occurs, this means that a healthcare professional made a mistake in determining what exactly the patient’s medical condition is. Such a mistake – or a delay in making the right diagnosis – can cause significant health problems for the patient or even result in death.
Surgical errors are also far more common than they should be. When a surgical error occurs, this means that a doctor or surgeon either operates on the wrong part of a patient’s body or performs the wrong surgical procedure altogether. As our readers can probably imagine, either result can be devastating for a medical patient.
Lastly, another common occurrence of medical malpractice is a medication error. In such an instance of error, a healthcare professional may either prescribe the wrong dose of medication or the wrong medication altogether. The side effects and unintended consequences can leave patients with an even worse medical condition.
No matter the form of medical malpractice occurring, a patient’s health and overall wellbeing could be compromised. In these instances, it is vital to fully understand what can be done. Legal recourses may be available to hold a negligent medical professional accountable and provide the injured patient with the compensation he or she deserves.
