Even if you’re not in the medical profession, you probably know the term “medical malpractice.” It’s one that doctors and other individuals in the medical niche never want to hear. If a patient brings an accusation of it, then that can damage or even end a doctor’s career.
About one out of three healthcare providers gets a medical malpractice accusation at some point during their working life. Sometimes, they can settle the matter quietly outside of court, but on other occasions, the accused individual might try to dispute the charges. They may do so if they feel they didn’t do anything wrong.
Medical malpractice situations can occur any time you have someone practicing medicine, but if you look at some of the situations that involve this term, you might start to see some patterns. Let’s take a moment to talk about some of the situations where medical malpractice most commonly occurs.
What does medical malpractice mean?
Before we go any further, let’s briefly define the term “medical malpractice” to be sure that you know what we mean when we use it. Medical malpractice means any situation where a medical professional should have provided a patient with a level of care that the profession demanded, but they didn’t do it.
Though doctors most often get medical malpractice accusations, you might also accuse a nurse, an orderly, or any other staff member of a hospital, clinic, or private doctor’s office. Even a chiropractor can get a medical malpractice accusation against them by a patient.
If you believe that medical malpractice took place, then you may bring a personal injury lawsuit against the doctor or other individual who you allege harmed you. However, you will need to provide enough evidence to convince a jury that you’re in the right, or else you probably can’t force a settlement offer or get a jury’s verdict in your favor.
Now, let’s talk about some of the specific situations where medical malpractice occurs.
Exhausted medical professionals
If you visit a hospital and spend some time in an emergency room, you might find yourself surrounded by individuals in the middle of a long shift. Some hospitals still operate while underfunded and understaffed.
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the medical community had a difficult time handling the overflow of patients. Even now, though, years after the worst of the pandemic, you will often find hospitals in a woefully understaffed state.
The individuals who work there might have to put in very long hours. That means doctors, but also nurses, orderlies, etc. These individuals often try to stay going by drinking cups of coffee and chugging energy drinks.
That is often a recipe for disaster. If you have a doctor who tries to operate on someone when they’re exhausted, then they might operate on the wrong body part. They may notice symptoms that they think mean one thing that actually indicate something else.
If a doctor or some other medical professional does something that harms a patient, and they are at the end of an exceptionally long shift, it’s very common that they’ll commit medical malpractice.
Misplaced charts
You might also have a situation where a medical professional puts a chart in the wrong place. They may put a chart outside the door of a room with the wrong patient inside.
If that happens, then another staff member might think that patient should get a certain kind of medication, but they’re giving it to an incorrect individual. They might even wheel a patient out of a room and take them to surgery when that person doesn’t need it.
This kind of thing sounds unlikely, but it happens more than you might think. It might seem like a comedy of errors, but there’s nothing funny about a misplaced chart resulting in an unnecessary surgery or the administration of incorrect medication that harms a patient.
Misreading of a chart
A doctor or some other medical professional might also misread a chart. That might cause them to give a patient the wrong medication or to tell them that they need to get incorrect meds from a pharmacy.
Doctors who write with a barely legible scrawl can cause this sort of thing to happen. That is why, if a medical professional in a hospital or a clinic can’t tell what a patient’s chart says, they need to double check it before they administer any kind of medication or treatment.
Misdiagnosis
Some doctors might incorrectly diagnose a patient by looking at their symptoms. Maybe this person has a condition that presents in such a way that the doctor misunderstands what’s happening.
Some doctors feel like they’re infallible, but that arrogance can really hurt a patient if the doctor’s wrong. The best doctors will know to consult with a specialist if they’re not sure about a patient’s symptoms.
While some doctors allow their arrogance to harm a patient, others don’t have enough experience, and that’s equally dangerous. If you have a neophyte doctor who encounters symptoms they don’t understand, they also need to seek a second opinion or multiple other opinions before settling on a diagnosis. That’s the most likely way to avoid making a serious mistake that harms a patient.
The wrong dosage
Medical malpractice can also occur if you have a patient who needs medication, but a nurse or an orderly gives them the wrong amount. In some instances, it won’t harm the patient, but in others, it can endanger their life.
The nurse or orderly might misread the patient’s chart, or they may simply make a mistake because they’re at the end of their shift. As previously mentioned, fatigue plays a part in many medical malpractice situations.
If anyone in the medical profession harms a patient, then the insurance of the facility in question should cover the damages. However, many insurance companies will try to fight the charges in court just as much as a doctor trying to protect their reputation.
