According to a John Hopkins study, medical mistakes cause more than 250 000 deaths every year. That’s a shocking statistic, yet even those at the best hospitals are guilty of making mistakes.

Read up thoroughly online if you have the chance on what has been diagnosed. If you think this does not correspond with your symptoms, get a second opinion. Don’t be afraid of doing this. You are entitled to as many opinions as you want if your insurance pays up.

Misdiagnosis

This is probably the most common mistake. It could lead you being treated for something that does not exist because of the X-ray being misinterpreted. If it’s a surgical procedure, it’s only when this is underway that it is realized that it is an incorrect procedure. This will obviously lead to a lawsuit from you.

Check the inputs from Hastings law firm attorneys, the leading name in medical lawsuits in Texas, and be astounded at the number of malpractice suits that have arisen in the US. Medical mistake statistics are enough to make you scared of going to hospitals. When in doubt, have a second opinion.

Mistreatment

This means that you are operated on and treatment instituted. It’s like a mistake that just goes on and on. Here, it’s a team effort that has gone awry. Actual case of many – a healthy kidney was removed, and the cancerous kidney was left intact. The mistake was realized too late, but obviously, the cancerous kidney had to be removed.

The patient woke up hooked to a dialysis machine. This kind of mistreatment is not an isolated case. Many healthy breasts are removed in place of the cancerous ones. A cancerous or strangled testicle should have been removed but the healthy one was taken out. Cases like these happen too often when they shouldn’t happen at all.

Delayed diagnosis

This is when a condition is not diagnosed in a reasonable amount of time. This can obviously result in the deterioration of the patient, and even death. This can happen in the case of a very busy hospital, where the proper attention has not been provided.

This can also lead to a lawsuit. In fact, it is one of the most common suits against hospitals. It normally happens in very busy ER units where a patient is left alone for hours while others are attended to. If it’s a life-threatening issue, it is usually seen to immediately or would have been if other severely ill patients were not being treated simultaneously.

Unnoticed identification

Something like sepsis often goes unnoticed because the condition is subtle and like other conditions in the early stages. For instance, an altered neurological condition in an elderly patient could be mistakenly seen as delirium or stroke. What it is in many cases is organ dysfunction associated with sepsis.

Sepsis, also known as the quiet killer, can be identified through lab tests by seeing organ damage and spotting the germ that causes the infection leading to sepsis. Rapid treatment can be effective, but it is often unnoticed and leads to death – an increasingly common mistake the world over.

Incorrect medication

If the wrong dose has been prescribed, or the patient’s current drug regimen has not been investigated, there could be catastrophic interaction. A thorough investigation of all medication being taken and a history of allergy should be performed before any medication is dispensed.

Taking the incorrect medication can lead to seizures and death. An incorrect dosage can do the same thing. The medication chart should be checked and double-checked and should not be filled out by a lazy or incompetent physician. It’s a very serious matter.