Knowledge Experience Compassion Service 
When an individual sustains an injury or incurs an illness due to the negligent actions of a medical professional, they may be able to file a lawsuit in order to recover compensation. There are various types of medical malpractice that could lead to a plaintiff filing a lawsuit. Here, we want to review some of the most common types of medical mistakes that lead to malpractice claims in New Mexico.
Common Medical Mistakes Made by Professionals
The study released a few years ago by Johns Hopkins University states that medical errors are the third leading cause of preventable death in this country. Data indicates that more than 250,000 deaths occur each year as a result of medical errors. Some of the most common medical mistakes include:
Misdiagnosis
Medical professionals need to get a person’s diagnosis correct in order to move forward with the proper treatment. So, if a misdiagnosis occurs, this can be detrimental. A misdiagnosis can lead to a person receiving delayed treatment or even no treatment at all for their ailment.
It is true that no medical professional will get a diagnosis correct 100% of the time, but there are specific standards of care that must be upheld by medical professionals. Failing to uphold the standard of medical care, particularly when it comes to diagnostic requirements, could result in harm to the patient. If a doctor fails to recognize symptoms, order the correct tests, or take time to interpret the test results, this could be considered medical malpractice.
Failure to Treat
Failure to treat a patient is a type of medical malpractice that can occur in a few ways, including failing to treat a patient with an inability to pay, discharging a patient too soon, or failing to follow up with a patient adequately. Failure to treat can interfere with a person’s ability to recover fully.
Medication Mistakes
Millions of individuals rely on prescription medications every day, and they also rely on medical professionals to correctly prescribe or administer their medication. Medication errors can occur in a variety of ways, including the medical professional failing to check a patient’s medical history, failing to look for any potential negative drug interactions or allergies, or failing to write the correct prescription and dosage adequately. Other medication errors can include the incorrect administration of the medication, giving a patient the wrong medication, or failing to give a patient their medication at all.
Surgical Errors
Surgical errors often result in extreme medical complications for a patient. Every person involved in the surgical process, from the surgeons and anesthesiologists to the nurses and nurse assistants, plays an important role in patient safety. Carelessness at any point during the surgery can result in major patient harm, and some of the most common surgical errors include:
- Not obtaining informed consent
- Performing on the wrong patient, wrong body part, or wrong side
- Anesthesia mistakes
- Accidental nerve or artery injuries
- Damage to healthy body parts
- Objects left behind inside the body
Birth Injuries
The entire labor and delivery process is complicated for a mother and child. Obstetrics and gynecology require specialized knowledge, training, and care. Medical professionals can make a variety of mistakes when treating a pregnant woman or during the labor and delivery process. This can include a failure to monitor the mother and fetal vital signs, failing to perform a C-section when one is warranted, incorrect usage of birth tools such as forceps or vacuum devices, and more.