Hospitals are supposed to be institutions of healing that promote the wellness and comfort of the patients who enter their doors. Unfortunately, in cities throughout the country, including our fair city of New Orleans, hospital errors are a sad and dangerous reality. Some errors cannot be prevented – medical professionals are not expected to be perfect, and not every error is the result of negligence. However, many hospital errors are preventable, and do not occur when physicians, surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, and other hospital staff perform their jobs competently.
When medical professionals fail to provide hospital care of a reasonable standard and patients are injured or tragically killed as a result, they can and should be held accountable in a court of law. If you are in need of a skilled, knowledgeable personal injury attorney to handle your medical malpractice case, the law firm of Harrell & Nowak, L.L.C., can help. Our medical malpractice attorneys handle the full range of cases, including those arising from virtually every type of hospital error.
Common Types of Hospital Errors
In a perfect world, our nation’s hospitals would be adequately staffed with well-trained employees who work reasonable hours and get plenty of time both to rest and to update their professional skills. In the real world, however, most hospitals are underfunded, with employees working to the point of exhaustion while trying to accommodate heavy demand for their services. While it may be understandable that errors could occur under such circumstances, acts of negligence that compromise the health of patients must be brought to the light. Medical malpractice lawsuits help to increase awareness of hospital errors while ensuring that injured patients are properly compensated for their losses and expenses.
The most common types of hospital errors that result in medical malpractice claims include:
- Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose errors: When physicians misdiagnose or altogether fail to diagnose conditions that their competent peers would have properly diagnosed under the same circumstances, tremendous harm can befall patients. This is especially true of conditions that must be diagnosed in a timely manner to ensure efficacy of treatment, including cancer, stroke, and heart attack.
- Surgical errors: These errors include performing the incorrect procedure, operating on the wrong body part, puncturing internal organs, or even leaving instruments in the patient after the incisions have been sutured closed.
- Anesthesia errors: Anesthesia errors are among the most potentially dangerous and lethal. Failure to monitor patients or to take a full medical history can lead to serious injuries or death.
- Medication errors: Dosage errors are the most common types of medication errors that occur in a hospital setting; however, the administration of the incorrect medication is also relatively common.
- Birth injuries: Birth injuries can occur as a result of improper prenatal care or negligence during the childbirth process.
- Emergency room errors
- Misreading of lab results
- Failure to order a necessary test
- Infection due to unsanitary conditions
These are just a few of the more common hospital errors that can give rise to a medical malpractice lawsuit. For an evaluation of your potential medical malpractice case, please contact the law firm of Harrell & Nowak today.