When you need to go to the hospital, you expect the medical professionals to take care of you and help you regain your health. But sometimes, our healthcare providers cause additional harm. While hospitals are supposed to have procedures and protocols in place to protect their patients, mistakes can still happen. A medical mistake can cause physical, emotional, and financial damage. If this has happened to you or a loved one, you may be dealing with treatment, medical expenses, and wondering about your future. At Belsky & Horowitz, LLC, our experienced Hagerstown medical malpractice lawyer will stand by your side and help you recover for the damages you incurred.
Types of Medical Malpractice
As you’re recovering from your injuries, you may be wondering what happened in the course of your care. There are many ways for severe injuries to occur. Here are some example of medical mistakes that can happen:
- Anesthesia Errors
- Surgical Errors
- Failure to Diagnose
- Misdiagnosis
- Medication/Prescription Errors
- Emergency Room Errors
- Defective Medical Devices
All these examples of medical malpractice can cause irreparable harm to a patient. Our lawyers are here to help those who have been injured because of these mistakes and find out why they happened. There are some reasons why a healthcare provider may make one of the mistakes listed above.
Sometimes, these errors occur because of miscommunication. A patient’s chart can be handed off to many different people while they’re in a hospital. If a healthcare provider forgets to make a notation of something or the writing is illegible, the others who get the chart will not have that information. This could result in delays in getting medication or wrong dosages.
There could also be instances of medical care providers who are intoxicated while they’re practicing. If a doctor or nurse is under the influence of drugs or has been drinking, they could easily make a mistake that could result in injuring their patient. While healthcare providers may deal with stress in their job, it’s no excuse to work while under the influence.
Our medical malpractice lawyer will fight for you to recover the damages you’ve incurred no matter how you were injured and why it happened. We understand how medical negligence can put your life on hold—we can help you move forward with certainty.
Unnecessary Surgery and Lack of Informed Consent
In some cases, your doctor may recommend surgery. There are some specific situations where the surgical procedures themselves may be considered medical malpractice. Unfortunately, unnecessary surgeries may account for about 10% to 20% of surgical procedures. It’s a doctor’s job to realize if there is a treatment path that doesn’t require surgery. If they fail to recognize this, they may put a patient through an invasive and painful surgery that they didn’t need.
The patient will have to go through recovery and live with the consequences of the surgery. This could result in a lifestyle change or career change—and these are possible outcomes of a successful surgery. But what if the patient is put through an unnecessary procedure and their surgeon makes a mistake?
A USA Today article states that the federal and state governments do not gather statistics of unnecessary surgeries and the consequences of when surgeons act negligently, such as hitting a nerve or artery that can result in disability or a fatality. In 2011, 10% of spinal infusions weren’t necessary. There were some instances of not having medical reasons to go through with the procedure or the doctor failed to meet the standard of care by not seeking non-surgical options. Medicare paid for these procedures.
If you do need surgery, your doctor is supposed to give you information about the procedure. They’ll go over the benefits and risks of having the procedure. You should know all about the risks of what could happen before you decide to move forward with the procedure. You are allowed to refuse treatment. If your doctor didn’t give you this information and did the procedure anyway, they are breaking the law.
How Can a Medical Malpractice Claim Help You?
The economic and noneconomic damages of medical malpractice can be overwhelming. When you’re dealing with medical bills from past procedures along with the costs of your future care, you may worry about how you’re going to pay these expenses and still put food on the table. Those with others that rely on them financially may wonder how they’ll continue that support.
Your injury and recovery period may prevent you from returning to work. While people may have saved PTO and sick time, this is rarely enough when you’re recovering from a severe medical mistake. Missing work can add to your stress—but we’ll fight for you to recover lost wages.
In addition to the financial losses, there are the other effects of medical malpractice. You may have experienced pain and suffering or may not be able to participate in hobbies and activities you used to enjoy. Loss of enjoyment of life can take a severe emotional toll and our lawyers in Hagerstown will take these into account when determining your compensation.
When Belsky & Horowitz, LLC is representing you, we’ll give you all the information about the legal process and what you can expect from it. We’re ready to answer any questions you have. Our lawyers are ready to fight for your rights to recover the damages you suffered because someone else acted negligently. Our attorneys are prepared for your case to go to trial. We have experience in representing our clients in front of a jury and will explain how it works so you feel comfortable in a courtroom.
If a medical error has harmed the health and wellbeing of you or a loved one, you should get in touch with our law firm as soon as possible and schedule a free case evaluation. You’ll speak with a Hagerstown medical malpractice attorney about what happened. Our lawyers can take it from there and help you figure out the best way to proceed.
