How to Know You Are a Victim of Medical Malpractice
Some people are harmed by medical malpractice without even realizing it. Becoming familiar with what counts as malpractice and common examples of malpractice might help you increase your wariness of medical errors. You may have suffered harm from malpractice if your condition worsened or failed to improve. Talk to a Wilmington medical malpractice attorney to find out more.
TYPES OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
There are several types of medical malpractice to look out for. Increasing your awareness of these might increase your chances of detecting malpractice when this happens to you. The most common types of malpractice can be broken down into:
- Surgical errors
- Diagnostic delays or misdiagnosis
- Medication and prescription mistakes
- Misuse of medications or medical devices
- Failure to obtain informed consent
Identifying the type of malpractice you suffered is often the first step for any medical malpractice lawsuit. You cannot file a lawsuit without proving negligence. Not only does negligence mean finding the cause of the harm but also proving the recklessness involved.
Proving negligence can be difficult, especially when you do not have much evidence to go off of. Medical professionals who attempt to cover up what happened only make this process harder. Consider contacting a Wilmington medical malpractice lawyer to see what steps need to be taken to prove your lawsuit.
Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit could give you access to compensation to cover damages like:
- Medication costs
- Medical bills for treatment
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
MOST COMMON MEDICATION ERRORS
There are several subtypes of medication errors that can happen with malpractice. Medication errors can happen during prescribing, ordering, filling of medications. Communication errors most commonly contribute to these medication errors. So do factors like being rushed and failing to follow-up with patients regarding side effects.
The most common types of medication errors include:
- Wrong dosage
- Wrong medication
- Providing an expired medication
- Failing to assess for allergic reactions to medications
- Incorrect administration route
- Prescribing the wrong instructions
The doctor, nurse, or pharmacy workers could make a mistake that causes a medication error. This can make identifying who caused the error problematic. Working with an experienced lawyer who can investigate the situation can be helpful.
Many of the effects of medication errors can be severe. The effects range from severe allergic reactions to deadly side effects and overdoses. All it takes is a decimal point mistake to throw off the dosage to cause an overdose. Many medication errors are made because of minor errors like this, including illegible handwriting and miscommunication of vital medication information.
Proving a medication error in your medical malpractice claim may involve obtaining documentation of the prescriptions and medical records involved.
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ATTORNEY IN DELAWARE
Filing a medical malpractice claim can be challenging when staff members deny what happened. Do not hesitate to ask a Delaware medical malpractice lawyer for help. All you have to do is call Edelstein Martin & Nelson today at (302) 295-5050 for a free consultation about your case. Our team of attorneys might be able to increase your chances of compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages.