Most Common Medical Malpractice Suits in New York
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or other health professional harms a patient or fails to provide proper medical treatment that another competent professional would have reasonably provided.
Doctors, nurses and emergency responders are human, and they make mistakes just like the rest of us do – but unfortunately, their mistakes are often of the “life and death” variety.
How Often Does Medical Malpractice Occur?
Medical malpractice occurs more often than any of us would like to admit. In fact, many cases go unreported because the victims don’t know that they’re victims.
What you need to know is that just because a doctor made a mistake or you’re unhappy with the outcome of your treatment, that does not mean that medical malpractice actually occurred. The key lies in whether a competentprofessional would have made the same mistake.
Misdiagnosis and Failure to Diagnose in New York
One of the most common causes for medical malpractice suits, both in New York and across the nation, is misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. If a physician fails to diagnose or misdiagnoses an illness, that means the patient could miss out on important treatments that could have prevented the illness from getting worse; in the worst cases, an appropriate diagnosis could have prevented death.
As with any other medical malpractice suit, the key is in proving that the treating doctor – the one who misdiagnosed or failed to diagnose the patient – did not do what another competent medical professional would have done.
New York Childbirth Injuries
Childbirth injuries are devastating. In some cases, they’re caused by medical malpractice. However, more often than not, they are caused by other factors.
Some of the most common birth injuries include:
- Brain injuries. Brain injuries can include cerebral palsy and seizure disorders that result from a shortage of oxygen to the baby’s brain and a number of other causes.
- Fractured bones. Difficult deliveries or the misuse of obstetric tools can lead to fractured bones in infants, which can also cause nerve damage and have other repercussions.
- Erb’s palsy and Klumpke’s palsy. Both of these injuries are related to damage of the nerves that control the arms and hands.
Unfortunately, though, a physician or obstetrician can be negligent long before childbirth. Instances of negligent prenatal care can result in harm to the fetus or the mother – and in some cases, both can suffer.
Negligent prenatal care can include failure to diagnose a mother’s condition, which may include:
- Anemia
- Gestational diabetes
- Hypoglycemia
- Preeclampsia
- Rh incompatibility
A physician or obstetrician could also fail to identify birth defects, ectopic pregnancies or diagnose a disease that could be contagious to the fetus.
If an obstetrician is negligent during childbirth, it could mean that he or she failed to anticipate birth complications, did not respond to signs of fetal distress, or neglected to order a Cesarean section when it would have been appropriate. It can also refer to the incompetent use of forceps or a vacuum extractor.
Medication Errors in New York Hospitals and Care Facilities
Medication errors hurt millions of people each year. Whether a prescription is wrong, the dosage is incorrect, or the medication is administered improperly, medication errors can be life threatening.
Anesthesia errors can also be devastating. If an anesthesiologist makes a small error, the patient can die. Anesthesia errors occur because an anesthesiologist fails to investigate his or her patient’s medical history or fails to inform the patient about the risks involved when the patient doesn’t follow instructions.
During surgery, anesthesia errors can include:
- An overdose of anesthesia
- Failure to monitor a patient’s vital signs and response to the medications
- Improperly intubating the patient
- Using defective equipment
- Use of the wrong type of anesthesia
Surgical Errors in NY Hospitals
Some of the most common surgical errors include a surgeon’s negligence. Operating on the wrong body part is an extreme example of a surgical error. However, other types of surgery errors include leaving surgical instruments in the body or puncturing internal organs while operating.
Do You Have a Medical Malpractice Case in Brooklyn or Staten Island?
If you’ve been hurt by a medical professional, call us at 212-406-1331 or contact us online. We may be able to help you recover damages that can help pay for your medical bills and future treatments, lost wages, and other expenses.