What Kinds of Medical Malpractice May Occur in a Hospital?

When most patients leave a Florida hospital, they’re on the road to recovery after a successful medical procedure or treatment. A problem has been diagnosed, they’ve started treatment, and if they’re not back to normal, they’re at least on their way there. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen for everyone. Sometimes, the cause is medical malpractice. 

Medical malpractice is a term for negligence committed by medical professionals. It refers to mistakes, whether someone did something improperly or failed to do something they should have done. In a hospital setting, medical malpractice could be committed by surgeons, physicians, nurses, physical therapists, radiologists, nursing assistants, pathologists, or those running blood tests. Anyone in the building who plays a role in diagnosis and treatment could commit medical malpractice. 

Hospital management may also be negligent. They may know a professional on staff has serious problems or multiple past complaints but fail to keep them away from patients who end up injured. Equipment may not be adequately maintained, or management knows it’s not working correctly. Yet it’s still used, causing incorrect test results or hurting the patient. Unsanitary conditions may be allowed, causing infections. 

What Could Go Wrong While I’m in the Hospital? 

Medical malpractice in a hospital involves a range of acts or omissions that fail to live up to the accepted standards of care, breaking the law and causing you harm. Some of these severe mistakes include: 

• Failing to correctly diagnose you with a medical condition in a timely manner, leading to delayed treatment and your condition worsening 
• Misdiagnosing your condition and you’re treated for something you don’t have 
• Administering the wrong medication or the right one but with the incorrect dosage  
• Mistakes during surgery, anesthesia errors, or leaving surgical instruments inside your body 
• Failing to follow proper infection control procedures 
• Inadequate or inaccurate communication or instructions among hospital staff can lead to misunderstandings or mistakes  
• Insufficient supervision or inadequate training of staff can contribute to care errors 
• Failing to monitor you and react if something goes wrong 
• Failing to prevent your fall if you’re known to be at risk of losing your balance or you cannot safely stand or walk 
• Your medical records or history is missing, parts are omitted, or they contain errors 
• You are discharged prematurely, so it’s unsafe to leave, or your discharge instructions are insufficient or contain mistakes. 
• X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds, bone scans, and other radiological tests could be performed or misinterpreted, so a condition may be missed, it’s described as being better or worse than it is, or the wrong diagnosis is made 
• Pathologists or cytologists may make the wrong decisions after examining tissue or fluid samples, causing a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis 

Each medical malpractice case is unique, and several hospital mistakes can contribute to your injuries. For instance, the hospital administration may fail to suspend or fire a nurse who’s known to make mistakes and she gives you the wrong medication, which causes a severe reaction. In this case, your injury was caused by both the administration and the nurse.

Are You the Victim of Medical Malpractice?   

If you think you’ve fallen victim to your hospital’s failure to meet professional standards, contact the Jeffrey R. Davis, P.A. law firm today!