Despite protocols that are designed to keep patients safe, Florida medical facilities still make mistakes that lead to a large number of patient fatalities. According to a study published in Health Affairs, medical errors caused the deaths of 168 patients in Florida medical facilities last year, while another 386 were injured because of mistakes.
Common Medical Mistakes
The most common medical mistakes include:
- Diagnosis errors. Diagnosis errors include mistakes caused when a medical professional believes patients have one condition when they actually have another. In addition, these errors can occur when a condition is overlooked all together.
- Operation errors. Mistakes made during surgery include when a medical professional operates on the wrong part of the body, leaves medical equipment inside of a patient or operates on the wrong person entirely. Some operation errors can be related to the administration of anesthesia - when a patient is given too much or too little anesthesia before a procedure.
- Medication errors. Medication errors occur when patients are given the wrong medication or when they are given the wrong dosage of the correct medication. These errors are often caused when a pharmacist can't read a doctor's handwriting and doesn't have the time to follow up. In other cases, the wrong medication is given to a patient because a pharmacist accidentally administers a similar-sounding medication to the one that was actually prescribed
Know Your Rights
Medical mistakes are a tragedy that medical personnel need to be held accountable for. If you or a loved one has been harmed because of a medical misstep, contact a personal injury attorney in your area who is knowledgeable about medical malpractice issues. You may be eligible to receive damages for what you have suffered as a result of the medical mistake.
