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What Information Should be Provided for Medical Malpractice?
Medical doctors are almost always very good at identifying key medical problems and getting them resolved as quickly as possible. These doctors have studied for decades to perfect this art. In order to be a good doctor, one has to take all coursework very seriously. There have been far too many cases in which doctors may have misdiagnosed medical problems or even prescribed the wrong medication to their patients, therefore causing unwanted results, including serious injury and death.
What to Do if Affected by Medical Malpractice
When addressed in court, the person affected will likely need to confirm his or her personal information, including full name, any previous names, current residence address, and date of birth.
The affected person will also need to describe the acts of the medical doctor, including specific diagnosis, procedures, tests, and treatments claimed to have caused the injuries. He or she will need to provide the dates of such acts, name and address of each witness, name and address of each knowing individual, and location of hospital and other medical records reflecting such acts.
How to Avoid a Potential Medical Malpractice Case
Being affected by a medical malpractice case does not only affect you; the misdiagnosis negatively affects the doctor and his or her medical career. Every year, medical malpractice has killed over 200,000 patients in the United States. To potentially prevent a medical malpractice case from ever occurring, there are ways to establish a good relationship with your doctor.
Making the Right Medical Diagnosis
To make sure that a person avoids as many medical malpractice cases as possible, it is best for him or her to make an appointment with a specialist, depending on the symptoms and type of illness. That person should also have, in writing, all of the symptoms that he or she is experiencing. The person must be truthful in what he or she writes because there have been far too many cases where the person forgets to tell the doctor other experienced symptoms.
Birth Defects Caused By Medical Malpractice
The majority of children are born healthy, but three to four percent of babies will be born with a birth defect. A birth defect is a physiological or physical health concern that is apparent when a child is born. A genetic defect is more likely if it runs in the family, but birth defects can also be caused by the negligence or mistake of a doctor, nurse, or hospital.
There are over 4,000 known birth defects, and although it is not a doctor’s fault for a genetic birth defect, there are tests that can identify some defects early such as, Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, cystic fibrosis, or muscular dystrophy. How to move forward with a pregnancy can be determined by this genetic testing. Not providing these tests, or providing misinformation, can be considered negligent, and put a mother and baby at risk.
Even during a healthy pregnancy, a birth defect is still possible for a child to develop during delivery. These disorders can be caused during birth and may be caused by the negligence of a doctor or hospital.
What Are Common Surgical Errors in Illinois?
Undergoing any kind of surgery can be intimidating for patients of all ages. Regardless of the injury or medical condition, “going under the knife” can pose certain risks even for someone who is healthy or has no underlying issues. In some cases, complications may arise during the surgical procedure that could not have been predicted. However, in other situations, negligence on the part of the surgeon or medical staff may put a patient’s life in danger. Several factors can play a role, such as a physician’s incompetence, reckless behavior, or miscommunication between the surgical team assisting. If you or your loved one has suffered due to surgical errors, you may be entitled to compensation through a medical malpractice claim.
Failure to Provide Standard of Care
Medical mistakes can happen when healthcare professionals fail to uphold an expected standard of care. This includes noticing signs and symptoms of distress in a patient before or during a surgery. Medical negligence can take a variety of forms, but in the case of malpractice, it may result in devastating results for the patient. In certain cases, a person may die as a result of a complication, or if he or she survives, may have debilitating effects for the remainder of his or her life.
Is a Misdiagnosis Considered Medical Malpractice in Illinois?
Many people put their trust in healthcare professionals to treat an injury or a specific medical condition. However, mistakes can and do occur, unfortunately. Often considered the most common, most costly, and most dangerous of medical errors, a missed or delayed diagnosis prevents a patient from receiving appropriate medical treatment to prevent his or her ailment from worsening. A misdiagnosis is only considered medical malpractice when a physician acted negligently and took action that another doctor would not have taken given the same circumstances. This can be difficult to prove, but an experienced personal injury attorney can help uncover evidence of this negligence.
Reasons for a Missed Diagnosis or Misdiagnosis
There are several ways that a medical mistake can happen, and although most are unintentional, they can have profound effects on a patient. In some cases, a missed or misdiagnosis can leave someone in worse health than they were before visiting the doctor or hospital. In addition, the timing of it can be critical depending on his or her condition. For example, the timely diagnosis for advanced diseases such as cancer is crucial to provide the necessary treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation, which can stop a malignant tumor from growing or spreading to other body parts.
New Report Addresses Frequency of Diagnostic Errors
According to a recent report from the same organization that put together the groundbreaking 1999 “To Err is Human” report, most people will deal with at least one medical diagnostic error in their lifetime– errors which can prove to be dangerous, if not fatal. These errors include either a late diagnosis or one which is totally incorrect.
The report, titled “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care,” was organized by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (IOM).
In preparing the report, researchers determined that there are approximately 12 million patients who receive an incorrect or late diagnosis each year. The report also found that the number of these errors will probably increase due to the processes that are currently in place throughout the healthcare system.
Some of the other findings of the report include:
Statute of Limitations vs. Statute of Repose in Illinois Malpractice Cases
An Illinois appeals court has ruled that families of plaintiffs who die with a pending medical malpractice lawsuit can add a wrongful death claim to the lawsuit. As one might expect, such an addition is possible if the death is alleged to be related to the action in question in the original malpractice suit.
The case was heard by the three-judge panel, and involved an Illinois woman who was being treated at the University of Chicago Medical Center and several of its affiliates, as well as two other medical centers, between the years 2007 through July 2009. In 2011, the woman filed a lawsuit against all parties, alleging that they failed to diagnose her condition as central nervous system lymphoma. The filing of the lawsuit was within the two-year statute of limitations, as well as the four-year statute of repose required by the state of Illinois.
Filing Limitations
Study: Medical Errors Now Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S.
In 1999, the medical community was rocked by a report prepared by Institute of Medicine which classified the problem of medical errors as an epidemic. That report concluded that approximately 95,000 people died each year from preventable medical mistakes. The annual cost to medical facilities was determined to be between $17 billion and $29 billion. Although the Institute of Medicine’s report inspired much debate over the years regarding what could be done to protect patients, a new report – prepared by researchers from John Hopkins University - found that the medical community may not have had too much success and preventable medical errors are now the third leading cause of death in this country.
Unlike the 1999 report, which only used data from one study, the new report used information collected from four major studies. Two of these studies were from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, during the years 2000 to 2008.
What Are Common Birth Injuries Caused By Medical Malpractice?
For many people, expecting a baby can be a dream come true. A lot of expectant mothers may have healthy, uneventful pregnancies. However, labor and delivery can be difficult, especially when unexpected complications arise. Parents rely on medical professionals to take the necessary precautions to prevent any serious injuries to the mother or baby during childbirth. If a physician or nurse does not properly respond to these problems, the medical facility may be liable for any birth injuries that result. In certain situations, a medical malpractice claim may help cover financial hardship due to ongoing costs for medical treatment.
Complications During Childbirth
Just because a woman had an easy pregnancy does not necessarily mean she will have a smooth delivery. In some cases, a mother may have had a vaginal delivery for her first child, but her second child may require a Cesarean section. Doctors monitor a woman’s progress throughout the pregnancy, and they are also responsible for ensuring a safe delivery. If a medical professional fails to recognize signs of distress in either the mother or baby, this can lead to life-threatening complications.
How Medical Malpractice Can Change a Child’s Life
Malpractice can cause pain for any patient, but when a victim is a child, a young person suffers because of the negligence of a medical professional. Children can be harder to diagnose than adults, but they deserve the same level of care of time. Infants are especially challenging because they cannot tell you how they feel. An innocent child should not get sick or die because a doctor did not do their job.
What Qualifies as Medical Malpractice
Some mistakes happen in medicine, but not all qualify as malpractice. Medical malpractice is when a standard of care is diverted from by any medical professional or institution. There is no exact definition for a medical standard of care, but across different fields, it is compared to how a reasonable professional would act in similar circumstances. For example, if a patient was misdiagnosed and not harmed by the treatment or lack of correct treatment, they likely would not have a case for malpractice.
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9631 W. 153rd St., Suite 32, Orland Park, IL 60462
708-966-2408
