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What Are the Most Common Types of Medical Malpractice Claims?

We look to the medical profession to help us regain our health and well-being when we’ve been injured or are ill, and when doing so leads to further harm, the situation is dire. Medical malpractice is not as uncommon as most believe, and it comes in many forms. If you or someone you care about has been injured due to medical malpractice, you’re not alone – an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Charleston can help.

Misdiagnosis

Misdiagnosing the patient’s condition is the most common form of medical malpractice, and it can be very damaging. To begin, the patient isn’t treated for the medical condition they do have, which delays care and often translates to even more serious health consequences. At the same time, they are treated for a condition they don’t have, which can lead to very adverse side effects that could have been completely avoided.

Delayed diagnosis is a variant of misdiagnosis that can also cause considerable harm. Because positive health outcomes are so closely associated with timely medical attention, delayed diagnosis can be a serious problem.

Failure to Treat

Sometimes, illnesses and injuries are assessed and diagnosed correctly, but treatment isn’t followed up. This means that receiving an initial diagnosis can directly harm the involved patients. Primary examples include the following:

Medical providers are held to a standard of care that reflects what their professional peers would employ under similar circumstances. When they fail to uphold this standard, the result can be medical malpractice.

Surgical Errors

Surgery comes with significant risks, and patients must be informed of the dangers involved up-front. This, however, is distinct from the kinds of surgical errors that support medical malpractice claims. For example, performing the wrong surgery, performing surgery on the wrong body part or person, performing a surgery that isn’t medically necessary, or causing avoidable damage to the patient in the course of performing surgery can all amount to medical malpractice.

Using non-sterile surgical instruments, leaving foreign objects in the patient’s body, providing inadequate aftercare, and supplying anesthesia improperly are other prime examples of dangerous surgical errors that can support medical malpractice claims.

Prescription Drug Errors

Prescription errors can lead to severe damage, especially when dangerous interactions with other medications are involved. They can also be caused by negligence on the part of the prescriber or the pharmacist who fills the prescription.

Failure to Adequately Treat or Prevent Infections

Infections are risky health concerns that are not always avoidable. When an infection results from unsanitary conditions or is caused by failing to identify and treat a potential infection, it can be medical malpractice.

Our Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Charleston is on Your Side

The focused medical malpractice attorneys in Charleston appreciate how difficult the consequences of medical malpractice can be. We will spare no effort in our quest to obtain the compensation to which you’re entitled. Learn more by contacting us online or calling us at 843-577-5100 today.