Types of Malpractice

The concept of medical malpractice negligence is very broad and encompasses virtually every kind of mistake that could be made by a medical professional. The most common cases brought against doctors involve:

Improper diagnosis
Failure to diagnose
Medication errors
Surgical errors such as a slip of the knife severing a nerve during an operation
Medical instruments, sponges, needles or other foreign objects dropped inside a patient and left there after surgery
Errors in prenatal diagnostic testing
Failure to advise of diagnosis
Lack of informed consent
Abandonment (failure to attend to a patient)
Improperly prescribing a drug
Failing to inform the patient of available treatments
Continuing a treatment that has been shown to be ineffective
Below standard treatment or incorrectly performed treatment

A doctor has a duty to you to use care and diligence to diagnose your illness so that the proper treatment can be recommended. In order to properly diagnose a condition, a doctor should ask about a patient's medical history as well as his or her family's medical history. The doctor also should ask for a detailed description of current symptoms and should perform a thorough examination, which includes necessary diagnostic tests.

Example: After hurting your wrist you go to your family doctor, but he concludes it is just a sprain and doesn't request an X-ray, which would have revealed a fracture. The fracture goes undetected and, as a result, a permanent and debilitating injury to your wrist results. The doctor may be negligent for failing to order an X-ray, or possibly for not referring you to an orthopedist.

Doctors also have a duty to disclose information pertaining to the treatment you will receive. If your condition is such that it is beyond the scope of practice of the examining doctor, or beyond the doctor's expertise, he or she must refer you to a specialist. If your doctor fails to follow these basic principles, and injury is caused as a result, you may have a case for a malpractice claim. Medical malpractice can occur at any point in the course of diagnosis and treatment. For example, the wrong chart could be placed at your hospital bedside, resulting in you being given medication that you are allergic to that causes serious harm or even death.

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The above is not legal advice. That can only come from a qualified attorney who is familiar with all the facts and circumstances of a particular, specific case and the relevant law. See Terms of Use.