It is a fact of medical care that doctors will make mistakes. Unfortunately, these mistakes are often very costly for the victims, not only financially, but also due to the major health consequences that doctor errors can have on a patient's life. Due to the huge impact a California doctor's mistake may have on a patient's life, a patient may decide to pursue a medical malpractice claim.
In a recent study of approximately 4,000 physicians revealed the primary reasons they were sued for medical malpractice. Thirty-one percent of study respondents revealed they had been sued for a failure to diagnose a patient properly. An additional 31 percent indicated they had been sued because a patient suffered an "abnormal injury." The third leading reason for medical malpractice suits was the physician's failure to treat the patient, such as when a cancer diagnosis was late or the condition was misdiagnosed entirely.
Additional lawsuits stemmed from doctors' failure to follow proper safety procedures; failure to obtain proper informed consent from patients; and ineffective documentation of patient education and instruction.
Alarmingly, of those physicians who completed the study, 80 percent of physicians over age 60 had been sued for medical malpractice at least once. This result suggests a tremendous amount of potential medical malpractice.
If you believe you have been harmed by a physician who has failed to diagnose your injury, failed to treat your condition properly, or if you have suffered an injury after treatment by a physician, you may wish to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit. An attorney may be able to offer guidance regarding your rights.
Source: beckershospitalreview.com, "Top 3 reasons for medical malpractice lawsuits," Emily Rappleye, accessed Jan. 15, 2016
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