Whether it involves a physician’s failure to properly diagnose an illness, a pharmacist filling the wrong prescription, or a nurse’s mistake resulting from her failure to properly read a patient’s chart, medical malpractice in the U.S. results in millions of dollars of additional medical expenses for injured patients, and a lifetime of pain and suffering, both for the patient and for his or her loved ones.
Medical malpractice does not happen only in a doctor’s office or hospital emergency room. Nursing home malpractice is a serious and relatively unknown problem that afflicts millions of our senior citizens who reside in long-term care facilities and receive substandard health care.
There are countless types of medical errors that can give rise to a medical malpractice claim. Some of the more common examples of medical malpractice include:
- A nurse’s failure to remove a surgical sponge from the patient after surgery
- A surgeon’s operation on the on the wrong body part or even on the wrong patient
- An anesthesiologist’s improper administration of anesthesia prior to surgery
- A doctor’s failure to diagnose cancer or other serious illness
- Neglect of an elderly nursing home patient
- Prescribing a medication to a patient who is allergic to the medication
- A hospital’s failure to maintain sterile conditions
The injuries that can result from medical malpractice are often worse than the underlying illness or condition that initially led the patient to seek medical assistance, and can involve permanently disabling, catastrophic and, sometimes, fatal conditions. As a result, if you are victimized by medical malpractice, you may be entitled to substantial money damages, even in cases involving what may appear to involve only minor injuries. You can recover any additional medical expenses you have had to cover as a result of the malpractice, such as doctor and hospital bills, medications, therapy, home health care and all other related medical expenses, as well as any future medical expenses you reasonably expect to incur. You can also recover for the physical pain and suffering you have sustained, your out of pocket expenses, your mental and emotional anguish, your lost wages, benefits and other compensation, any loss of your future earning capacity, and the future diminishment of your enjoyment of life. Additionally, in some cases, if your spouse or child has been injured as a result of medical malpractice, you may be entitled to collect damages for the loss of pleasure or companionship you have experienced as a result of their injuries. And in certain extreme cases, where the wrongdoer’s conduct is extreme and outrageous, you may be entitled to collect punitive damages to punish the wrongdoer and to prevent the misconduct from being repeated in the future.
