In actuality, there is nothing “common” about medical malpractice lawsuits, as they come in a variety of disparate areas.

If you’ve ever picked up a paper and taken a good look at the
headlines, you’ll likely see a case or two relating to medical
malpractice. At least you will if the case is large enough to garner a
fair amount of public exposure. Otherwise, many med mal lawsuits go
unreported and virtually unnoticed except for the plaintiff and
defendant.

The reality of the matter relating to how frequently medical
malpractice lawsuits are filed lies somewhere in the middle. Either
they are far more frequent than we believe and doctors have to pay out
more in liability insurance (malpractice insurance) or the numbers are
not as high as we think because many people don’t realize they have
been the victim of medical malpractice or choose not to report it for
fear of alienating their doctor. The truth at times is stranger than
fiction.

The most up-to-date statistics relating to medication errors are
from 2006, the follow-up survey done by the Institute of Medicine.
Their updated figures show that from 1999’s first report indicating
malpractice caused 98,000 deaths to 2006, the figure shot up to an
estimated 1.5 million. Obviously the problem is not getting better with
time. This particular set of numbers also showed outpatient clinics
were responsible for the largest number of mistakes and deaths than a
hospital. On the other hand when hospitals the made a mistake, they
made ones that resulted in more severe injuries.

You may be wondering what kinds of mistakes doctors and other
medical practitioners make. Generally speaking, the errors fall into
five categories: medication errors, misdiagnosis, surgical errors,
anesthesia malpractice and birth errors.

Doctors have the initial responsibility to correctly diagnose a
patient’s illness. If they don’t get it right there is a high
likelihood the treatment and/or medications will also be wrong. Failure
to diagnose breast cancer is cited in roughly 40 percent of med mal
lawsuits.

Another large percentage of med mal lawsuits are based on medication
errors, which could mean the wrong medicine entirely, an incorrect
dose, a wrong prescription or the wrong combination of drugs. These
kinds of errors will of course make the patient’s condition a great
deal worse, or in the extreme, result in wrongful death.

Birth injuries are usually caused by several things that include the
doctor failing to provide pre-natal care, not performing tests that
would show if there are any fetal abnormalities, not recognizing fetal
distress, rushing to deliver the child too soon causing injuries for
the mother and child, and providing adequate care for preemies.
Negligence in this area may cause clavicle fractures (fractured
collarbone), cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy and shoulder dystocia, etc.

During surgery, just about anything is likely to happen. In most
instances of surgical errors, negligence has played a large part in the
death or injury. Generally speaking most injuries or deaths are the
result of negligent pre-op planning and after surgery care. Other
errors include not giving the right dose of anesthesia, performing the
operation on the wrong part of the patient’s anatomy, puncturing an
internal organ and leaving instruments in the body.

Of course anesthesia is a part of surgery and this calls for
precision and a great deal of expertise in making sure the right dose
is given and there are no pre-existing conditions that may complicate
matters. The wrong dose may be fatal or cause serious long-term
difficulties for the patient.

Medical malpractice may be found in just about any setting from the
hospital to a pharmacy and from a dental office to the clinic of a
gynecologist. If you think you may be a victim of medical malpractice,
do not hesitate to contact a highly qualified medical malpractice
attorney to find out what your rights are and have your potential case
assessed.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb & D’Orazio. To learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Atlanta personal injury, Atlanta business law, Atlanta criminal defense visit, Webbdorazio.com.