When a person in Connecticut is sick or injured, their primary concern is regaining their health. What they shouldn’t have to worry about is that the medical professional treating them will make a mistake. Unfortunately, physicians sometimes act negligently, which could lead to further harm. The following are some common types of medical errors medical professionals may make.
Misdiagnosis is the most prevalent type of medical mistake in the U.S. This is significant as a misdiagnosis can mean that a person’s medical condition is going untreated, which could ultimately end up in death. Medication errors are also common. In fact, according to one source, more than 60 percent of people in the hospital are not given their regular medications. In fact, an Institute of Medicine report states that each year around 1.5 billion people in the U.S. are subjected to a medication error.
Unnecessary treatment and unnecessary tests are also common medical mistakes physicians make. This too can prove to be deadly. For example, having multiple CT scans ups the chance you could develop cancer during your lifetime and the dyes used in such tests could ultimately lead to kidney failure. Of course, sometimes medical tests are necessary, but it is important that patients know what the risks of such tests are, and they should also be told why the test is needed.
Some medical errors are known as “never events.” These errors take place when a physician makes a mistake that never should have taken place in the first place. For example, a sponge could be left in a patient’s body after a surgical procedure or a medical professional could mistake a chest tube for a stomach tube, putting food into the wrong tube. Never events could lead to serious infections or they could be fatal.
These are only a few common medical mistakes that could lead to a worsened condition or even be fatal. When this happens, the patient or his or her family in the event of a death may want to determine if they have grounds for pursuing a medical malpractice claim. Doing so could provide them with the financial compensation they need to cope with the many expenses associated with a medical mistake and it could also be a way to hold negligent medical professionals accountable for their actions.
