The most common types of medical malpractice cases leading to wrongful death are misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, surgical errors, anesthesia errors, birth injuries, and medication errors.
These types of errors can occur in a variety of medical settings, including hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. They can also be caused by a variety of healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, and other medical staff.
In this article, we take a look at the most common types of medical malpractice cases leading to wrongful death and how they can be avoided. Stay with us to learn more about these cases.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is a type of personal injury lawsuit that can be filed by the family of a patient who died due to medical negligence. If your loved one died after receiving treatment from a doctor or other medical professional, you may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit against them.
Medical malpractice cases are usually filed in civil court, meaning they don’t go through criminal courts like murder and manslaughter cases do. In order for a medical professional to be held guilty under such a case, there should be reasonable doubt that they failed to provide their services.
Some of the medical malpractice cases include:
Failure to Diagnose
When a patient dies as a result of a disease that was not properly diagnosed, this is called failure to diagnose. Diagnosing a disease or condition is difficult, especially when it’s rare or unusual. Medical professionals are human and make mistakes; sometimes the patient may have been misdiagnosed or the doctor did not have all the information needed to make an accurate diagnosis.
In some cases, medical professionals can be held liable for failing to diagnose if they failed to follow up on test results that showed that there were problems with your health. There are times when medical professionals may not be able to realize the signs of disease.
Medication Errors
Medication errors can occur at any point in the medication process. While these mistakes may not always result in a patient’s death, they often lead to serious injuries and complications that require medical attention. These include:
- The prescribing physician fails to identify a patient’s allergy
- The pharmacist misreads or misunderstands instructions from the doctor about how much medicine a patient should take and makes an error in dosing or administering it
- An error is made by another member of staff, including nurses, who incorrectly administer medications.
Failure to Treat
Failure to treat is a type of medical malpractice, and it can be caused by a doctor or hospital. When someone dies from this type of negligence, the surviving family members may be able to sue the negligent party for the wrongful death.
Failure to treat is when a doctor or hospital fails to provide adequate medical treatment for a patient who has been diagnosed with an illness that could be treated successfully. This can result in serious injury or death if not promptly addressed by a qualified medical professional. In some cases, failure to treat is caused by a lack of treatment; in others, it results from administering inappropriate care (such as prescribing drugs that will interact negatively with other medications).
Medical Negligence in Surgery
Medical negligence in surgery is a common cause of wrongful death. The most common types of medical malpractice in surgery include:
- Failure to monitor a patient’s vital signs during a procedure
- Failure to properly explain the risks and benefits of treatment options
- Inadequate training for surgeons or other staff members involved in your care
Losing a Child During Labor and Delivery
If your child passes away during childbirth, a medical malpractice lawsuit will likely be filed. A wrongful death lawsuit is a legal action brought against someone who caused the death of another person. A medical malpractice case is one way to file a claim for damages resulting from an injury or death due to negligence on the part of a healthcare professional.
Medical malpractice can be devastating for patients and their families. Not only does it involve life-threatening injuries, but it also leads to wrongful death in many cases.
If your loved one died due to medical malpractice, you may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the doctor or other medical provider responsible for their care. Remember that filing suit is not an easy process and will take time, so make sure that you have the right attorney representing your case.
Contact the Nevada wrongful death attorneys at Bourassa Law Group, who are skilled and experienced in dealing with wrongful death cases.
Call us at (800)870-8910 for a free consultation!