We trust medical professionals with our lives and well-being; however, sometimes healthcare workers act negligently on the job and cause innocent patients to suffer the consequences of their actions. Unfortunately, medical negligence is to blame for hundreds of thousands of injuries and deaths every year.
How Are Healthcare Workers Negligent With Patients?
There are many ways in which those working in the healthcare industry can behave negligently and carelessly on the job. For example:
- Doctors could prescribe the wrong medication, misread test results, mix up patients’ medical records and results, and fail to diagnose medical conditions.
- Surgeons could operate on the wrong body part, leave surgical instruments inside a patient’s body, or cause harm to internal organs or other parts of the body that are unrelated to the surgery.
- Anesthesiologists could give patients the wrong dose, the wrong anesthesia, or fail to properly watch and monitor patients who are under anesthesia during surgeries.
- Nurses could administer the wrong medication or incorrect dose into a patient’s IV or fail to act reasonably and call for a doctor when necessary.
- Pharmacists could fill a patient’s prescription incorrectly by providing the wrong medication or wrong dose.
Whether a medical professional made a surgical, diagnostic, or medication error that has caused you or a loved one unnecessary harm, it is your right to hold that healthcare worker responsible. Sadly, some acts of medical negligence have even caused the wrongful death of an innocent person.
Doctors and other healthcare professionals have a duty to provide a certain level of care to their patients. If they do not live up to the medical standard of care—and actually provide sub-standard care that caused harm—they may be guilty of medical negligence.
If you believe you have a medical malpractice case and have questions about pursuing a legal claim, we invite you to read some of our most commonly asked questions and answers related to medical negligence claims. If after reading this section on our website you have additional questions, we would be happy to provide you with a free consultation to answer any and all remaining questions you may have.