Crofton Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Attorneys for Misdiagnosis, Birth Injuries, Surgical Errors, and More in Crofton, MD

Everyone will need to receive medical treatment at some point in their life. Patients who visit doctors, receive care in emergency rooms or hospitals, or undergo surgery will rely on doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to protect their health and safety. Unfortunately, medical providers do not always live up to that trust. Mistakes can be made during treatment. Doctors or other professionals may fail to follow the proper procedures, or they may overlook important details. Patients who suffer injuries because of medical negligence can take steps to address these issues and obtain financial compensation.

Medical malpractice can take many forms, from a physician who misses a critical diagnosis to a hospital that fails to monitor a patient appropriately after surgery. When a person has been harmed by medical negligence, the lawyers at Silverman Thompson can provide legal representation for the victim and their family members. We fight to hold medical professionals responsible for their negligence, and we work to obtain the financial resources our clients need to recover from their injuries.

Errors Made by Doctors in the Course of Treatment

Physicians have a responsibility to provide care that meets the appropriate standards. When a doctor makes mistakes or does not provide the level of care a person requires, and their negligence results in injuries, these issues can be addressed through a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit.

Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis

When a doctor fails to identify a condition or attributes symptoms to the wrong illness, a patient may go without the treatment they need. A misdiagnosis may result in a patient receiving the wrong treatment, or a delayed diagnosis can result in a failure to receive the necessary treatment while a person's condition worsens. Cancer misdiagnosis can occur if a doctor fails to order a biopsy, misreads test results, or dismisses warning signs. Without a proper diagnosis, early-stage cancer may progress to an advanced stage, putting a person's life at risk.

Strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms, and other serious conditions may also be misdiagnosed. Because the treatments for these conditions can be time-sensitive, a delay in diagnosis could potentially lead to serious injuries, permanent disabilities, or wrongful death. A physician may attribute the symptoms of a cardiac emergency to a gastrointestinal illness, or they may dismiss warning signs of a stroke as a migraine. In these cases, they may be held liable for harm suffered by a patient because of a misdiagnosis.

Inadequate Treatment Planning

Doctors who develop treatment plans without fully reviewing a patient's medical history, the medications they are taking, their allergies, or other risk factors may put patients at risk of harm. They may prescribe medications without considering dangerous side effects, or they may fail to adjust treatments as needed based on changes in a patient's condition. When a physician's decisions fall below the required medical standards, they may be liable for injuries that occur because of their negligence.

Hospital Negligence

Hospitals have legal obligations toward patients, and they are required to ensure that the treatment provided meets the standards of care. Institutional policies, staffing decisions, and other forms of negligence can lead to injuries affecting patients, and a hospital may be held liable for its failure to provide the proper care.

Surgical Errors

Operating room negligence can cause serious harm to patients. Surgical errors may involve surgeries performed on the wrong body part, foreign objects left inside a patient's body, damage to surrounding blood vessels or nerves, anesthesia errors, failure to prevent infections, or failure to monitor patients for complications after surgery. Surgeons or others involved in procedures may be held liable for injuries suffered by patients due to negligence.

Birth Injuries

Negligence during labor and delivery can lead to permanent harm for both newborns and mothers. Birth injuries may occur when hospital personnel do not respond correctly to fetal distress or use labor-inducing drugs incorrectly. If doctors delay in performing cesarean sections when necessary, a child may not be delivered in time to prevent an injury. The use of delivery tools like vacuum extractors or forceps can lead to brain injuries or other forms of harm for babies. Injuries may also occur because of infections or failure to properly treat conditions like jaundice.

Mothers can suffer serious harm if the proper procedures are not followed during and after delivery. A failure to diagnose preeclampsia may result in organ damage or other injuries. A mother may experience severe blood loss after delivery, and the failure to address this issue can put her life at risk. Other issues that may affect mothers due to medical negligence include vaginal lacerations, uterine rupture, or nerve damage.

Hospital-Acquired Infections

Hospitals are required to take steps to prevent infections. If they do not follow the correct procedures to maintain sanitary conditions and sterilize instruments, patients can suffer serious harm. Surgical site infections, urinary tract infections related to the use of catheters, pneumonia associated with the use of ventilators, and other types of infections can occur when hospitals are negligent. Patients with compromised immune systems, people who are recovering from surgery, and people who stay in hospitals for extended periods may be vulnerable to harm due to infections.

Failure to Monitor Patients

Hospital personnel will need to monitor the conditions of patients and provide all care that is needed. Nurses may fail to check patients' vital signs, or they may fail to recognize and respond to serious complications such as sepsis, internal bleeding, or respiratory distress. Understaffing at hospitals can lead to inadequate monitoring or failure to respond correctly to conditions affecting patients.

Medication Errors Involving Pharmacies and Medical Professionals

Medication mistakes can occur at multiple points during medical treatment. These issues can lead to dangerous allergic reactions or side effects, or a patient may not receive the proper treatment because the wrong medication was administered.

Physician Prescribing Errors

A doctor may not prescribe drugs correctly. They may prescribe the wrong medications or doses. If they do not review a patient's medical history, they may prescribe medications that can cause allergic reactions. They may also fail to recognize that a prescribed medication could have a harmful interaction with other drugs a person is taking. Failure to inform a patient about potential side effects of a medication may also put the patient's health at risk.

Nursing Errors Involving the Administration of Medications

In hospitals and other facilities, nurses may be responsible for administering medications to patients. When they make errors, patients can suffer serious harm. They may provide the wrong dose of a medication, which could lead to an overdose or the failure to address a patient's symptoms. In some cases, nurses may give one patient a medication that was intended for someone else, which can lead to serious harm due to side effects, allergic reactions, or drug interactions.

Pharmacy Errors

Pharmacists will need to make sure medications are dispensed correctly. If they fail to verify prescriptions or make mistakes related to the drugs or doses given to a patient, serious injuries can occur. Negligence by pharmacists may also include the failure to provide patients with counseling about the proper use of drugs and the potential side effects they may experience.

Contact Our Crofton, MD Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Medical negligence can result in serious injuries, and patients who have been affected will need to understand their legal options. At Silverman Thompson, our attorneys can review records related to treatment and other information to identify any negligence, and we will work to hold any liable parties accountable for the harm suffered by our clients. Contact our Crofton medical malpractice injury lawyers at 410-385-2225 to schedule a free consult.