Over 50 different hospitals in the greater D.C. area care for patients. MedStar hospitals alone care for thousands of different patients on a daily basis. This means close to 10,000 Washingtonians a day are trusting their doctors to care for them with 100 percent focus, accuracy and medical perfection.
However, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately 225,000 people die each year from preventable medical errors, while countless more suffer from permanent physical and psychological trauma.
Unfortunately, most of these victims aren’t even aware that their injuries were caused by medical negligence. Based on a practice study performed by the Harvard Medical School, only one out of every eight victims recognizes medical incompetence and files a malpractice claim. This is why it’s extremely important that you’re able to see and identify medical carelessness and misconduct when it occurs; you’ll be able to protect yourself from undue harm as well as be able to provide evidence for a potential medical malpractice claim.
Common Forms of Medical Malpractice
- Substandard care. Improper or incorrect treatment of symptoms that could not only delay healing but could also worsen the symptoms.
- Drug mistakes. Pharmacy or prescription errors that can cause your dosage to be incorrect. In some cases, the prescription drug itself could be wrong.
- Anesthesia errors. When either too much or too little of the drug is given, resulting in abnormal heart rate and in some cases death; when too little is given, you could potentially wake up in the middle of a procedure.
- Birth injuries. Delivery problems, miscommunication or negligence could result in trauma to you and your baby.
- Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose. Delayed or erroneous diagnoses may result in irreparable damage; in the case of cancer, if not properly diagnosed, it could spread and then not be able to be removed or treated.
- Emergency room and surgery errors. Mix-ups in ERs and surgery suites can cause patients to receive the wrong surgery or treatment.
- Sexual misconduct. If your caregiver sexually assaults, abuses, or harasses you in any way, he’s not only liable for assault charges, but also medical malpractice charges as well.
If you feel that your doctor or hospital has acted irresponsibly, don’t be afraid to speak up. Malpractice is a growing concern in the medical profession and carelessness, negligence, and misconduct need to be addressed and stopped before tragedies occur.
Please share this article with your friends and family; they may be victims of medical malpractice and not even know it. By spreading the word, you can help keep our hospitals and loved ones safe.