Medical malpractice is surprisingly common. By some estimates, doctors commit medical errors on 12 million patients every year in the U.S.
Medical errors include misreading x-rays, surgical fumbles, and improperly prescribed medication. These medical errors fall into three broad categories. Understanding these categories can help you identify when your healthcare provider has committed medical malpractice.
Here are three types of medical malpractice.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice happens when a healthcare provider fails to provide reasonable care and this failure causes an injury. Malpractice lawyers must prove four elements to win a medical malpractice case:
- Duty of care established by the doctor-patient relationship.
- Breach of the duty by providing unreasonable care under the circumstances.
- An injury to the patient.
- A causal link between the care and the injury.
Medical malpractice is not:
- Every bad medical outcome.
- Unhappiness with the treatment you receive.
- A side effect the provider discussed with you.
A jury examines all facts to determine whether medical malpractice occurred. Almost all medical malpractice cases fall into three broad fact patterns.
1. Diagnosis Errors
A healthcare provider commits a diagnosis error when the provider:
- Misdiagnoses the patient’s condition.
- Fails to diagnose the patient, leading the patient to believe they are healthy when they are not.
- Mixes up the patient’s diagnosis with another patient’s diagnosis.
Regardless of how it happens, diagnosis error can delay a patient’s treatment. This may substantially dim the patient’s prognosis or even cause the patient’s death.
Diagnosis errors may occur due to a doctor’s misinterpretation of symptoms or test results. They can also occur when a testing lab or imaging lab provides the wrong results to the doctor.
2. Treatment Errors
Treatment errors occur when the healthcare provider provides a treatment that does not meet the standard of care expected of a reasonably prudent provider. Some examples of treatment errors include:
- Treating the wrong limb.
- Administering the wrong medication or wrong dosage.
- Leaving an instrument or sponge inside a patient after surgery.
- Using outdated treatment methods.
Treatment errors sometimes occur due to simple carelessness or administrative errors. Medical providers also commit treatment errors when they have problems affecting their judgment such as:
- Drug or alcohol abuse.
- Dementia.
- Mental illness.
- Emotional disorders.
- Stress.
These problems do not excuse medical errors. But they show that carelessness is not the only cause of medical malpractice.
3. Communication Errors
Communication errors occur when a medical provider fails to obtain informed consent from a patient for a course of treatment. Informed consent requires the medical provider to:
- Explain the patient’s medical condition or illness.
- Explain the course of treatment recommended by the medical provider, including the probability of success.
- Describe any side effects and risks associated with the recommended treatment.
- Discuss alternatives to the recommended treatment and answer any questions from the patient.
- Obtain consent to proceed with the medical treatment.
When a medical provider fails to obtain informed consent, the provider risks a lawsuit for medical malpractice. Some examples of communication errors include:
- Treating a comatose patient without consulting the patient’s family.
- Recommending a course of treatment without discussing alternatives.
- Failing to screen the patient for known risks before recommending treatment.
Medical providers often use consent forms to prove informed consent. But your signature will not prove consent if the medical provider failed to provide the required communication before you signed.
Proving Medical Malpractice
Once you understand the categories of medical malpractice, you and your malpractice attorney can look for evidence to support your claim. Often your medical records and a second opinion can expose the facts that you can use to obtain compensation after a medical error.