Orlando Hospital Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Lawyers
Hospitals are a place that people go to seek medical assistance. It is a refuge for sick and injured people who depend on these medical professionals to treat and care for them. Every patient who visits a hospital expects to be released healthy, or at least in better condition than they went in for. What happens when the patient is released and is worst off? Or are injured while they are being cared for in the hospital?
A patient who endures injuries during their stay at the hospital might want to seek the help of a medical malpractice Orlando Hospital lawyer to evaluate their case. If a patient is injured during their stay at a hospital, something must have gone wrong. The firm works to determine exactly what is it that went wrong. Medical professionals and hospitals are required to execute the accepted standard of care for everyone who comes into contact with their medical facility.
Patients can be severely injured and even die from a mistake that a hospital or medical professional committed. A patient who visits the hospital should be recovering, not suffering even further because of the hospital’s negligence. When a patient dies as a result of a mistake, their family members can file a wrongful death claim if they prove that the hospital was negligent during their care.
Medical Mistakes and Negligent Care Leads to Injuries and Death
Development of pressure ulcers and bedsores: This will occur in patients who are bedridden. There are certain patients that will not be able to move after a surgery or develop a disease that prevents them from moving. For patients who are bedridden, nurses must move them around so that ulcers and bedsores do not develop. The reason why these injuries form is because there is no movement of the body. Nurses are required to move these patients on a regular basis. If a patient develops these injuries, the hospital can be liable for their nurse’s actions.
Incorrectly performing surgery: Surgery is a very delicate procedure. Every operation carries its percentage of risks. When something does go wrong, the patient and their family members should investigate whether a medical negligence was performed. There are obvious mistakes like leaving a foreign object inside the body after the operation, but then there are mistakes that can be difficult to tell like a delay in treatment for a cancer patient. A medical professional can say that even if they had gotten treatment earlier, they still would have been injured or died from the cancer. This is why medical experts are required in the vast majority of cases.
Errors during the anesthesia procedure: Anesthesia is a very important step during an operation. Practically every surgery will require some form of anesthesia whether it is general or regional anesthesia. Each form of anesthesia requires a different setup and administration. If an anesthesiologist does not properly administer the anesthesia and monitor the patient’s vital signs, they can suffer catastrophic injuries. Along with monitoring during the procedure, they must monitor after they have finished.
Not being able to diagnose the medical condition: This is actually one of the gravest errors within the medical field: failing to diagnose and misdiagnosing. A person who has a severe medical condition expects the doctor to be able to determine what they have so they can proceed with treatment and get better. If a doctor misdiagnoses or fails to diagnose the condition, the patient can die as a result. This mistake can be attributed to lack of experience, confusion with other medical condition, and more.
Actions Hospitals Can Take to Reduce Medical Mistakes
A hospital can take a variety of measures to try to reduce medical mistakes occurring with their facility. Below will be some suggestions as to how a hospital can reduce the chances of a patient suffering an injury because of negligence:
- Hospitals should verify that all of their employees are skilled and trained in their field
- Hospitals need to maintain the hospitals sanitized to avoid infections from spreading
- Hospitals should provide the medical staff with the appropriate resources to treat every condition
- Hospitals need to be vigilant of their employees and male are that no one is working under the influence
Hospitals can take extra preventative measures to reduce medical mistakes and negligent care by their employees.
Statistics on Hospital Mistakes That Lead to Death
- It has been estimated that preventable hospital errors kill about 440,000 people a year
- Accounts for 10% of all type of deaths in the United States
- Prescription errors, misdiagnosis, and surgical errors are the top three medical mistakes
- Tens of billions of dollars are associated with medical errors
- Emergency departments perform the most medical errors
Case Studies of Medical Errors
Not being attentive
The family of a woman was compensated $19.7 million after her death. She was in a vegetative state for a whole year after suffering permanent brain damage after the hospital failed to see that the breathing tube that she had one was not properly placed, depleting her of oxygen. It only took the jury three hours to deliberate and award her family for their damages. Both the doctor who attended the woman and the doctor’s employer were sued.
Failure to monitor patient after prescribing medication
A patient who suffered from arthritis was given a medication that was known to have powerful effects against arthritis, but it also could be toxic to the liver if used for too long. Once the doctor prescribed this medication, he was required to monitor the patient while on the drug to ensure that their kidneys did not start developing problems. The patient’s doctor failed to do so which resulted in the patient losing both of their kidneys. Eventually, the patient suffered too many complications and died from his injuries. The personal representative of the patient was awarded $5 million.
Too much medication
A man who was suffering from coronary artery disease was admitted to the hospital to undergo a surgery known as angioplasty and stent. These procedures help widen the artery and hold the artery in position. During this time, they prescribed him an anticoagulant to help with the stent procedure. The patient was given large amounts of the medication which caused him to suffer confusion and drowsiness. The patient was not monitored closely regardless of being high-risk of falling. As a result, he fell and suffered a brain injury and was bleeding excessively because of the anticoagulant medication that was prescribed to him. Unfortunately, the patient died from his injuries. His estate was awarded $5.6 million.
Pursuing a Claim for Wrongful Death by Medical Error in a Hospital
A hospital has a duty to provide all the patients that go to their facilities with the best care and treatment that they can receive. A hospital can take a number of actions to reduce the possibility of patients getting injured and even dying. The actions of the hospital’s employees will usually fall on their shoulders. If hospitals do not want to pay for their employee’s mistakes, then they should assess all of the hospital’s flaws and work on it so that no one becomes a victim. Percy Martinez Law Firm helps the families of victims who were killed during their stay at a hospital because the medical professionals provided negligent care. Families should receive the maximum amount of money that can be provided to them.