The Most Common Medical Errors in Miami, Florida

September 6, 2022 | Sagi Shaked | Medical Malpractice

Medical errors are some of the most common causes of medical malpractice claims in Miami, Florida. A medical error is a “preventable adverse effect of medical care.”

A Johns Hopkins study suggests that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States, with over ten percent of all deaths in the country being due to medical errors. The Johns Hopkins study calculated that more than 250,000 deaths yearly are caused by medical errors.

Below are common medical errors that can lead to patient injury and death.

Diagnostic Errors

Failing to diagnose a medical condition can have devastating consequences for a patient. Delays in medical treatment could significantly reduce the patient’s chance of recovery. Misdiagnosing conditions can also cause severe harm.

Diagnostic errors occur for many reasons. Sometimes, a doctor fails to order the correct tests or medical scans because of negligence or oversight. In addition, some errors occur because of defective medical equipment or errors in reading the results of radiological scans.

Surgical Errors

Errors in the surgery room can lead to death and permanent impairment.

Surgical errors include:

Operating on the wrong patient
Operating on the wrong body part
Failing to monitor a patient
Leaving instruments or foreign objects inside a patient
Anesthesia errors
Operating while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs
Operating without rest or sleep

Surgical errors can occur in doctor’s offices, hospitals, surgery centers, and other healthcare facilities.

Medication Errors

Medication errors are another common medical error that can occur in many different settings. A medication mistake can arise in a hospital or doctor’s office, but it can also happen at a pharmacy.

A doctor might prescribe the incorrect medication or the wrong dosage or fail to check for allergic reactions or drug interactions. Nurses may give incorrect medications or dosages.

Secondary Complications and Infections

Failing to monitor a patient can lead to life-threatening infections, including sepsis. Infections can also develop because staff members fail to sanitize and clean rooms and instruments. Failing to wash hands, not wearing sterile gloves, and working while sick are other ways patients can develop infections in hospitals or other medical facilities.

Failing to monitor patients for secondary complications could lead to patient deaths. Therefore, patients should be monitored closely before and after surgery or any other medical procedures. The slightest sign of infection or a secondary complication must be diagnosed and treated immediately.

Labor & Delivery Errors

Birth errors are one of the most tragic medical errors. Mistakes during labor and delivery can lead to the mother and child’s death. In addition, it could lead to permanent disabilities for the baby.

Medical errors include failing to monitor their vital signs, not ordering a timely C-section, refusing to call in specialists, and misusing forceps or vacuums.

Patients have the right to be informed about medical procedures and treatments. The doctor must provide all relevant information so the patient can make an informed decision about their health care. Breaching the duty to obtain informed consent could result in a patient’s death or injury because the doctor failed to adequately discuss the treatment with the patient.

Communication Errors

Failing to communicate with medical providers on the patient’s care team can have deadly results. Doctors, nurses, and other health care providers must have frequent and clear communication. Otherwise, mistakes can happen.

Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim in Miami, Florida

Other medical errors that can result in a medical malpractice claim include, but are not limited to:

Cancer misdiagnosis
Never events
Hospital negligence
Emergency room errors
Use of defective medical devices
Failing to refer patients to specialists

Suing a doctor or other medical provider for malpractice requires that you prove the following legal elements:

The doctor owed you a legal duty of care
The doctor breached the duty of care by failing to meet or exceed the acceptable standard of care
The breach of duty caused your injury
You sustained damages because of the doctor’s breach of duty

You must retain medical experts to provide expert opinions in your case. Because medical malpractice cases are complicated and require significant resources, it is best to work with a Miami medical malpractice lawyer.

An attorney can help you seek compensation for your economic damages, such as:

Medical bills
Out-of-pocket expenses
Lost wages
Nursing care
Help with household chores
Personal care
Rehabilitation therapy
Diminished earning capacity

You can also recover compensation for your pain and suffering damages. Non-economic damages compensate you for your physical pain and emotional distress. You can also receive compensation for a decrease in your quality of life, permanent impairments, and disfigurement.

Doctors and medical providers responsible for medical errors should be held accountable and liable for the damages they cause.

Contact Our Medical Malpractice Law Firm in Miami, FL

If you’ve been injured in an accident in Miami, FL and need legal help, contact our Miami medical malpractice lawyers at Shaked Law Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation.

Shaked Law Personal Injury Lawyers
20900 NE 30th Ave Suite 715
Aventura, FL 33180
(305) 937-0191