News & Insights

Many healthcare professionals entered the field out of a desire to help others. However, medical errors occur every day in the U.S. and they can lead to serious injuries for patients. If you believe you or a family member may be the victim of medical malpractice, you can turn to medical malpractice lawyers near Baltimore to discuss your case. Some of the most common types of medical malpractice cases that lawyers review include those involving birth injuries, diagnostic errors, and medication mistakes.

Birth Injuries

The arrival of a child into the world is supposed to be a joyous occasion for families. Unfortunately, due to the negligence of the obstetrics staff, birth injuries can change a family forever. A birth injury may occur when the attending staff fails to properly monitor the fetal heartrate, fails to respond appropriately to signs of fetal distress, or fails to order an emergency C-section to prevent oxygen deprivation to the baby’s brain. Oxygen deprivation and subsequent brain damage is one of the causes of cerebral palsy. A birth injury might also occur if the obstetrician uses excessive force in maneuvering the baby, inappropriately uses medical instruments such as a vacuum extractor, or improperly administers Pitocin, a labor-inducing drug.

Diagnostic Errors

There are a few different types of errors a physician may make when diagnosing a patient, such as failure to diagnose. As the name implies, this occurs when a physician fails to interpret symptoms correctly or doesn’t order the necessary tests, which results in a medical condition going undetected. Or, a physician may provide an inaccurate diagnosis, which can result not only in the inappropriate treatment, but also in the actual medical condition going untreated. Another type of diagnostic error occurs when there is a delay in making a cancer diagnosis, a type of medical malpractice that can cost a patient his or her life.

Medication Mistakes

Medication errors are more common than you might think. A physician might write a prescription for the wrong drug or inappropriate dosage, the pharmacist might dispense the wrong medication or dosage, or a patient may be inappropriately prescribed two or more drugs that interact with each other.