
Patients should be able to trust medical professionals. Protections for the integrity of doctor-patient relationships have existed for thousands of years: Doctors are still obligated to follow the ancient Greek Hippocratic Oath, declaring that they will act only in patients’ best interests. Unfortunately, not all doctors and medical professionals act in good faith. Others simply make mistakes. For these reasons, there is a medical malpractice statute in Florida which outlines how to hold doctors accountable to the standards they are to uphold. While no one is perfect, that is no excuse for doctors to get away with causing harm. If you are faced with the possibility of a medical malpractice claim, it is time for you to seek personal injury lawyers to assist you with a medical malpractice lawsuit. Take a look at these five common types of medical malpractice claims and get prepared for the worst-case scenario.
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1. Injuries to New Mothers and Children
It may surprise you to learn that pregnancy mortality rates rose in the United States since the late 1980s.
Some birth deaths and injuries are tragically unavoidable. Others, however, are due to medical negligence. This is one common type of medical malpractice lawsuit.
2. Mistakes Made in Surgery
Perhaps the most sensational kind of medical malpractice is surgical errors. Some of the most horrific cases capture media attention, but those are just a small proportion of the total.
More banal errors happen all the time, and the expertise of personal injury lawyers will help you figure out whether you should sue.
3. Issues With Medical Manufacturers
The malpractice suits that get the most attention generally involve practitioners. The negligence of medical manufacturers is not uncommon, though, and has disastrous consequences that lead to personal or class action lawsuits.
4. Conditions Identified Too Late
In some cases, patients or their families sue for malpractice when practitioners fail to diagnose in a timely manner.
Generally, delayed diagnosis suits are appropriate when a doctor misdiagnoses a patient at first but later gives them the correct diagnosis. Sadly, once this happens, the condition has progressed to further harm or even kill the patient. At this point, a lawsuit may be appropriate.
5. Harm From Misdiagnosis
Another common type of medical malpractice lawsuit is misdiagnosis. When patients fail to receive a proper diagnosis, untreated conditions cause debilitating and sometimes deadly symptoms.
In the case that a patient dies following a misdiagnosis, a lawsuit may be one way to provide for their family.
Defense for All Types of Medical Malpractice Suits
Not all medical mistakes warrant a lawsuit, but many do, and uninformed victims of malpractice fail to get justice. Now that you have information on five common types of medical malpractice lawsuits, have you found that your situation qualifies?
If you are in the St. Petersburg area and have questions about medical malpractice, contact the lawyers at Beltz and Beltz to discuss your case.