When you go to your doctor with a complaint, you have a right to expect him or her to do their best to diagnose and treat your condition. Whether they need to do one test or 100 tests to determine the cause of your illness, medical professionals have a duty to do so. When a doctor doesn’t do everything they can to diagnose a condition, they may be guilty of Medical malpractice in Cedar Rapids, IA.
Preventable harm may also occur in a hospital. Medical errors are responsible for up to 400,000 deaths every year. They range from infections that patients contract while they are in the hospital to surgeries on the wrong body part. Because there is no reliable tracking system for medical errors, it can be difficult for a patient to know whether the hospital they are planning to use is safe. Patients who are misdiagnosed or who are harmed by other preventable errors should speak to an attorney to get legal advice about their specific situation.
Medication errors can occur at several different points. A doctor who misdiagnoses a patient may prescribe the wrong medication for their condition. Even when the right medication is prescribed, sometimes a pharmacist will dispense the wrong medication or the right medication in the wrong dosage, causing a patient to have an adverse reaction. These errors are also common in hospitals, where nurses administer medication to multiple patients. Electronic tracking systems may prevent some of these errors if nurses are required to scan the medication before they administer it.
Patients who are misdiagnosed or injured due to a medical error at a hospital often contact an attorney who focuses on medical malpractice in Cedar Rapid IA. An attorney can review the case to determine whether it meets the criteria for filing a malpractice claim. If it does, they are likely to advise their client of the best way to handle the situation. Some cases are settled out of court while others are presented to a judge and jury. Each case of medical malpractice is different and only an experienced attorney can tell a client whether they can sue their doctor or the medical facility where they were harmed.
