Common Types of Medical Malpractice
Because of the many ways that a person can become ill or injured, there are some common types of medical malpractice that can arise more often than others.
Surgical Errors and Anesthesia Errors
Many occurrences of medical malpractice happen during surgery. Examples of surgical errors include performing an incision on the wrong location, operating on the wrong patient or the wrong body part, damaging nerves during surgery, and leaving a piece of surgical equipment inside a patient, such as a sponge. Anesthesia errors, similarly, are caused when the anesthesiologist does not administer the proper dose of anesthesia during an operation, which can lead to anesthesia awareness. Other side effects of anesthesia errors include damage to the trachea caused during intubation, heart attack, asphyxia, and even death.
Medication Errors
It is tragic any time a nurse, pharmacist, or doctor incorrectly administers a drug that results in an adverse reaction that can cause serious injury or death. In Ohio, Emily‘s Law is an informal name for Ohio Senate Bill 203 (SB 203), that was signed into 2009 in honor of a two-year-old girl named Emily Jerry. Her chemotherapy bag was prepared with a lethal saline concentration. Emily was on her way to beating cancer, but shortly after she grabbed her head in pain, began vomiting, and died three days later. It was found that a pharmacy technician had made a tragic error and that the pharmacist signed off on it. The board pharmacy board revoked their licenses, and both were convicted of criminal charges. That event not only affected medical malpractice law in Ohio, but it also changed the pharmacy profession. Even though there are no new steps in place to ensure that these errors do not happen, they still occur in hospitals and other facilities.
Birth Injuries
Having a baby is one of the most joyous and anxiety-inducing experiences a person can go through. Parents-to-be hope for a smooth delivery, but sometimes the negligence of healthcare workers leads to traumatic births. There’s nothing more heartbreaking than knowing that your baby has been injured. You do not have to fight alone. If your baby has suffered any of the following birth injuries then give our office a call:
- Subconjunctival hemorrhage
- Fractures
- Brachial Palsy or Erb’s Palsy
- Caput Succedaneum