10 Most Common Medical Malpractice Errors

In May 2016,  Johns Hopkins University released the results of a study that indicated that medical errors are now the third-leading cause of death in the United States. This puts medical negligence behind only heart disease and cancer, with the study finding that errors in the hospital account for roughly 250,000 deaths – or about 9.5 percent of all deaths in the U.S. – each year.

With these startling statistics in mind, if you believe that you or a loved one may be the victim of medical malpractice, it is important that you seek help recovering for your losses. The effects of medical malpractice can last a lifetime, and you should not bear the burdens of someone else’s mistake.

Are You a Victim of Medical Malpractice in New Jersey?

Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider fails to meet the necessary standard of care. As a patient, you expect your care provider to render an accurate diagnosis and provide appropriate treatment for your medical condition. What you do not expect is to leave the hospital or wake up from surgery to find that your condition is worse than when you were admitted. Unfortunately, as the recent John Hopkins University study suggests, this happens all too often.

As medical malpractice attorneys, we have seen more than our fair share of medical errors. Based on our experience, the following are 10 of the most common forms of medical malpractice:

  1. Diagnostic errors (including failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis, and delayed diagnosis)
  2. Surgical errors (including wrong-site and wrong-patient surgery, as well as surgical mistakes and leaving foreign objects in the body)
  3. Anesthesia errors (including failure to screen patients and administering too much or too little anesthesia)
  4. Prescription drug errors (including writing improper prescriptions and administering too much or too little of a particular medication in the inpatient setting)
  5. Delivery room errors (including improper use of forceps and other tools as well as various other mistakes that commonly result in serious birth injuries)
  6. Emergency room errors (including diagnostic errors and delayed treatment)
  7. Hospital administration errors (including inadequate staffing)
  8. Specialist malpractice (including mistakes by cardiologists, internists, obstetricians, pediatricians, radiologists, and other specialized physicians)
  9. Failure to adequately monitor patients in the hospital (including failure to provide necessary treatment or medication when a patient’s condition changes or worsens)
  10. Psychiatric malpractice (including failure to obtain patient history, utilizing improper therapeutic techniques, and unprofessional contact)

So, what leads to so many mistakes? Researchers have pointed to numerous potential causes of the alarming prevalence of medical malpractice. These include everything from inadequate supervision of inexperienced residents to physician fatigue and hospital overcrowding. But, regardless of the cause, if you are suffering or a loved one has lost their life due to medical malpractice, you owe it to yourself and your family to stand up for your legal rights.

Speak with an Attorney about Your NJ Medical Malpractice Claim

At the Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Hasson, P.C., we represent medical malpractice victims and their families throughout Union City and Hudson County, New Jersey. For a free, no-obligation consultation about your case, call our offices at (201) 928-0300 or contact us online today.