When you put your body and, indeed, your life in the hands of a medical professional, you should be able to trust that they will treat you with the utmost professionalism and care. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. When a medical professional makes a mistake, it can often result in injury, disablement, or death. When this occurs, you may need the services of a medical malpractice lawyer in Knoxville.

What is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional deviates from the expected standard of care when treating a patient, resulting in injury or death. Four elements must be satisfied if you wish your medical malpractice lawyer in Knoxville to file a lawsuit. These are:

  1. The doctor must owe a duty of care to the patient
  2. There must be evidence of a dereliction of duty
  3. You must establish direct cause by showing this dereliction of duty directly caused the injury
  4. The patient must have suffered damages, including economic or noneconomic losses, due to the injury

Most Common Causes of Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Medical malpractice is extremely broad and can cover a variety of different situations. It is not limited to just physicians; any healthcare worker can be guilty of malpractice, including nurses, midwives, GPs, dentists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, and more. However, some types of medical malpractice arise more often than others. Let’s take a look at some of the most common errors that may cause someone to look for a medical malpractice lawyer in Knoxville.

1 - Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose

According to a report by the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Diagnostic Excellence, approximately 795,000 Americans die or become permanently disabled as a result of a misdiagnosis. Unsurprisingly, this is the most common reason people seek out a medical malpractice lawyer in Knoxville. Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose are fairly common errors largely due to the similarity in the symptoms of various different illnesses and because the rarer symptoms may be difficult to accurately diagnose. However, despite these challenges, an accurate diagnosis is essential to a patient’s care plan. Without it, doctors are unlikely to create an effective treatment plan and may even implement treatment that makes the patient worse. Medical professionals must work diligently to identify the correct diagnosis, or they may face medical malpractice accusations.

2 - Errors in Prescribing Medication

Many patients also find themselves consulting a medical malpractice lawyer in Knoxville as a result of prescribing errors. It may even be more common than we realize, as often, patients never report these mistakes. A prescription usually passes through several health professionals, creating many opportunities for mistakes. Some of the ways medication errors happen include:

  • A Doctor may make an error when writing the prescription
  • Hospital staff may administer the wrong medication or an incorrect dose of the medication
  • The pharmacy may make an error when filling a prescription
  • The prescribing doctor may misspell the drug name, or their handwriting may be illegible,
  • Dangerous drug interactions may be missed when prescribing to a patient who already uses other medications.
  • Medical staff may fail to take a complete medication history from the patient
  • Expired medicines may be administered
  • The wrong dose may be prescribed, e.g., prescribing an adult dose to a child

3 - Surgical Errors

When a mistake is made during a surgical procedure, the consequences can be devastating to the patient. Some common errors include operating on the wrong body part, performing the wrong procedure, leaving a foreign object such as a sponge or scalpel inside the patient, or even operating on the wrong patient entirely! The resulting consequences can range from wound infections to permanent disfigurement or even death. If you are injured due to a surgical error, a medical malpractice lawyer in Knoxville can help you file a lawsuit to recover damages. Most surgical errors occur when there has been poor planning or preparation before the procedure or the doctor has failed to follow the appropriate protocols in the operating room.

4 - Anesthesia Errors

Following on from the surgical errors, another reason people seek out a medical malpractice lawyer in Knoxville is due to mistakes made with anesthesia. Using inappropriate anesthesia or making mistakes with doses can result in long-term complications and even death. These types of errors commonly stem from the anesthetist failing to evaluate the patient’s medical history to evaluate potential risks and complications. However, other reasons can include the following:

  • Neglecting to provide pre-op instructions, such as restricting food and drink prior to the procedure.
  • Administering too much or not enough anesthesia
  • Incorrect positioning of the patient’s breathing tube
  • Use of inappropriate or defective medical equipment
  • Failure to monitor the patient’s vital signs during the procedure

5 - Birth Injury

Birth injury law is a subcategory of medical malpractice law, and it relates to errors during pregnancy, labor, and delivery that might result in injury to either the mother or the newborn infant. This can be particularly devastating, and you will need a medical malpractice lawyer in Knoxville with experience in birth injury cases to guide you through it. Some of the situations that may result in a birth injury include misdiagnosis of pregnancy-related medical conditions, failure to diagnose birth defects, or behaving negligently during the delivery, resulting in injury to the infant.

These are by no means the only errors that may lead to a medical malpractice lawsuit, but they do represent the most common situations. If you have found yourself affected by these situations or any other type of medical negligence, you will need the support of a medical malpractice lawyer in Knoxville to guide you through the legal process. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us for a consultation.

--

Butler, Vines and Babb is a leading law firm in Knoxville, TN, with extensive litigation experience in Medical Malpractice Law, Birth Injury Law, Trucking Accident Law, Personal Injury Law, and Business Law. Contact us today at www.bvblaw.com or call 865-637-3531.

Please reference BV&B’s content disclaimer (located in this channel’s profile description) in regard to this shared content.