Medical Malpractice
Statistics on Medical Malpractice
- Only5 out of 100 doctors commit over half of the malpractice errors.
- Between 44,000 to 98,000 Americans die in hospitals each year due to preventable medical errors. (Institute of Medicine, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, 2000.) This is a higher mortality rate than 42,636 deaths from car accidents in 2004.
- Malpractice payouts by physicians and their insurers were $4.5 billion in 2001 – less than 1 percent of the country’s overall health care costs of $1.4 trillion. (National Practitioner Data Bank, as quoted in Business Week, March 3, 2003.)
Malpractice Lawyers
You rely on the medical profession to help with illness, injury and pregnancy. For the most part, you receive good care. However, when a doctor fails to diagnose your illness, delays or mishandles your treatment or pregnancy, you may be seriously injured. Grounds for medical malpractice could exist when a healthcare professional harms a patient because of failure to meet standards set for good medical practice.
Liability extends beyond the general practitioner to a wide range of medically trained specialists, including nurses, technicians, dentists, optometrists, orthopedic surgeons, obstetricians, pediatricians, and the list goes on. In addition, medical malpractice may occur in any location where healthcare is provided, such as the home, doctor’s office, hospital, medical testing facility, clinic or nursing home, to name a few.
Causes of Malpractice Injuries
As a category of personal injury, medical malpractice encompasses a broad scope of medical injuries that may result from:
- Administration of wrong medication or wrong dosage
- Birth injury
- Failure to diagnose
- Wrong diagnosis
- Blood transfusion errors
- Surgery on the wrong organ or limb
- Unnecessary surgery
- Improper operation of medical devices
- Inaccurate evaluation of x-rays
- Pressure ulcers
- Restraint injuries
- Infections from treatment
- Delayed treatment
- Negligent nursing care
- Inadequate patient examination
- Insufficient administration of tests
- Surgical instruments left in the body
- Inadequate staffing or supervision
Injuries Common to Medical Malpractice
The following injuries commonly occur as a result of medical malpractice:
- Birth Injuries
- Brain Damage
- Quadriplegia
- Brachial Plexus Paralysis
- Surgical Injuries
- Hospital Negligence Injuries
- Medical Device Injuries
- Death
- Diminished Life Expectancy
Birth Injury
Birth injury is a specific type of medical malpractice caused by a doctor’s failure to adhere to acceptable practice during pregnancy, labor or delivery. Improper treatment, monitoring…More>>
Skilled Legal Help
Medical malpractice is one of the most challenging personal injury areas and requires sophisticated legal skill along with access to teams of medical and technical experts for effective representation. At the Law Offices of Carl A. McMahan, our malpractice lawyers have the necessary resources and legal expertise to prevail in medical malpractice cases.
Arrange a Free Consultation
Our attorneys will carefully examine and evaluate your case. We will let you know if the prospects of taking legal action for medical malpractice look favorable. The consultation is free, and we do not recover damages, there is no fee. See how we can help. Call our office today.
