Medical Errors: 4 Most Common Medical Negligence Claims

Injuries and errors happen all the time across the United States. Four of the most common types of personal injury cases are auto accidents, premises liability, product liability and medical negligence.

When patients seek professional medical assistance for various health concerns, a certain standard of care, professionalism, and accuracy is expected. Unfortunately, though doctors, nurses, and medical professionals do their best to provide adequate care and assistance, mistakes happen. Within the medical sector, even a simple mistake can lead to life-altering consequences for the patient.

Here are some of the most common medical negligence claims:

• Child birth errors — Nearly a quarter of all medical negligence suits are filed against Obstetrics Gynecology (OBGYN) professionals — more than any other type of doctor. Sadly, both the infant and the birth mother can be victims of medical negligence, leading to fetal distress, postpartum hemorrhage, spinal cord injuries, and so much more.
• Surgical errors — Surgery errors are extremely common because of the delicate nature of the procedure. These issues account for approximately one-third of all medical negligence claims in the medical sector and can lead to extremely painful or life-altering issues.
• Anesthesia errors — These issues aren’t too common, thankfully, but they are serious and need to be addressed. Some patients have experienced the horrifying act of waking up during a medical procedure but are unable to inform the doctor, nurses, or assistants. Too little or too much anesthesia can lead to major medical negligence lawsuits.
• Diagnostic errors — The single largest contributor to medical negligence claims involve errors related to diagnosis. According to a Coverys report, 33% of medical negligence claims were related to errors made during patient diagnosis and more than half of those situations involved poor clinical decisions. Sadly, over a 5-year period involving 10,618 medical negligence claims, about 36% of diagnosis-related claims resulted in the death of a patient.

If you need legal representation involving one of the areas described above, contact Vanover, Hall and Bartley right away.