A patient may pursue a medical malpractice claim any time they were injured because a medical professional failed to meet the standard of care. Some common forms of medical negligence include misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose conditions such as cancer, surgical errors such as operating on the wrong part of the body, anesthesia errors, medication errors such as failure to consider allergies when prescribing drugs, or failure to take the proper steps to prevent birth injuries to a child or mother.