Surprisingly Common Medical Mistakes

The hospital or doctor’s office is the last place you expect to suffer injury. Yet medical malpractice occurs more frequently than most people even realize. Nurses, physicians, surgeons, anesthesiologists and other healthcare professionals make mistakes. While some go unnoticed or cause little harm, others result in serious injuries or even death. The following examples are some of the most common medical mistakes:

• Treating the wrong patient — Believe it or not, sometimes patients are mixed up. This can result in unnecessary surgical procedures, treatments and medications.
• Leaving instruments behind — In some cases, the error is not in the diagnosis but rather during surgery. If not careful, surgeons can stitch patients up with surgical tools left behind.
• Lost patients — Elderly patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease can become lost and suffer harm, malnutrition and even hypothermia.
• Operating on the wrong body part — Surgery can save your life, if performed on the right part of your body. However, if a surgeon chooses the wrong operation site, you could suffer from severe or even fatal injuries.
• Hospital associated infections — Hospital associated infections, or HAIs, happen to patients who visit hospitals to receive treatment. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around one out of every 20 hospitalized patients will contract an HAI.

Has a medical mistake caused you injury? Did your loved one pass away because of medical malpractice? If so, you may be entitled to compensation. By contacting an injury lawyer today, you can find out if you have enough evidence to support a claim.