Misdiagnosis
Misdiagnoses occur when a doctor incorrectly diagnoses your illness. Multiple illnesses can have the same symptoms. This can lead to an incorrect diagnosis in place of the correct diagnosis based on the same set of symptoms. Testing errors, patient mix-ups, or a failure to perform standard screenings can all contribute to a misdiagnosis.
Delayed Diagnosis
A delayed diagnosis can occur if your doctor takes too long to assess your condition. Such delays can lead to a deterioration of your condition. In some cases, your illness may even become untreatable.
Diagnostic and Treatment Errors
Mistakes made during diagnostic testing, surgery, when reading test results, or when administering medicines or other forms of care can lead to patient harm. It is not uncommon for doctors to administer an incorrect dosage of a medicine to a patient or for surgeons to leave behind surgical equipment in a patient.
Errors of these types can occur anywhere and at any time during the patient treatment process, right from when a patient is checked in to a care facility to the time the patient is discharged.
Product Injuries
Patients can be injured by the misuse of medical tools or the use of the wrong tool for the task at hand. Poor product quality, mislabeling of equipment or medicines, or infected equipment can lead to patient harm and a medical malpractice suit.
These are not the only scenarios that may qualify as medical malpractice. Any time a doctor’s negligence harms a patient, a medical malpractice claim may be warranted.