Nursing Negligence
Nursing negligence is a type of medical malpractice whereby a nurse, who is fully capable of providing quality nursing services, does not care for you the way a reasonable nurse would. The result of this is unnecessary suffering on your behalf.
Types of Nursing Negligence
There are five major types of nursing negligences that can occur:
Wrongful Death
What Is Wrongful Death?
Wrongful Death occurs when you, or someone you know, is killed because of a healthcare practitioner’s negligence or misconduct – whether intentional or not.
It is different from medical malpractice in that medical malpractice occurs when your healthcare provider is negligent, and you are harmed but your injury isn’t fatal. Wrongful death, on the other hand, occurs when you, or someone you know, dies as a direct result of medical negligence.
Failure to Diagnose
In 2013, Johns Hopkins researchers found that diagnostic errors – such as failure to diagnose – accounted for the largest fraction of medical malpractice claim payouts. Diagnostic errors also resulted in the most severe patient harm and the highest total penalty payouts.
In fact, Doctor David E. Newman-Toker at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine argues that diagnostic errors could easily be the biggest patient safety and medical malpractice problem in the United States.
Anesthesia Errors
Anesthesia is one of the fundamental components of any medical procedure. There is great risk involved when administering anesthesia, but it a risk that generally has to be taken in order for certain medical procedures to be conducted successfully, and so that you do not feel any pain throughout.
What Are Anesthesia Errors?
Anesthesia errors are a form of medical malpractice which is due to medical negligence. It occurs when an anesthesiologist, or another medical practitioner, fails to administer, or incorrectly administers, anesthesia during your medical procedure. These errors can result in injury, disability, and even death.
Doctor Errors
Unlike a general medical error, which can be caused by various healthcare professionals and associated personnel, doctor errors are specific to your treating doctor.
What Are Doctor Errors?
As with general medical errors, a doctor error is a preventable adverse effect of care that you suffer at the hands of your doctor which causes you harm.
Blunder # 1: Misreading a Mammogram
According to a recent study, in almost 16% of the cases, radiologists will report false-positive cancer readings in mammogram x-rays. Many of these radiologists are younger and newly trained doctors who may be likely to make more errors in interpretation than their more experienced counterparts.
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that only if the radiologists could compare films from their earlier mammogram screenings, the rate of these “false-positives” could be lowered significantly.
Dr. Joann Elmore, professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington (School of Medicine), says that it is alarming how common false-positives have become in the US. She also said that false-positives are most likely to occur in the case of breast cancer mammogram screenings but it shouldn’t discourage women from having annual check-ups.
Birth Injuries and Medical Malpractice
Birth Injuries and Medical Malpractice
Before a medical malpractice case can be brought forward, an understanding of birth injury is required. Additionally, several criteria need to be met in order to classify as a birth injury. If these criteria cannot be met, then a case of medical malpractice cannot be made.
What Is Birth Injury?
A birth injury is a physical injury that your baby and/or the mother received before, during, or just after the birthing process.
Patients with LBD at risk of misdiagnosis
Lewy body dementia refers to a particular kind of dementia that has three possible initial presentations. New Yorkers who have LBD are sometimes misdiagnosed as having Alzheimer’s because the two conditions have some of the same symptoms. This can be harmful to people with LBD because they may respond positively to some dementia medications that are less likely to be prescribed if they are erroneously diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and because people with LBD may respond negatively to some Alzheimer’s drugs, sometimes with lasting side effects.
Dermatology consults could prevent cellulitis misdiagnoses
Typically, cellulitis is diagnosed based on how the affected area looks and what the patient reports as symptoms. There are a number of other skin conditions that might have symptoms similar to those of cellulitis, so it is sometimes misdiagnosed. Cellulitis is a bacterial skin infection that causes skin inflammation. New York residents might be interested in the results of a study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital that demonstrates early dermatologist consultation for patients who were thought to have cellulitis improved outcomes and prevented misdiagnoses.
Rheumatology assessments may improve pulmonary disease diagnosis
When it’s suspected that a New York patient has interstitial lung disease (ILD), diagnosis typically involves invasive techniques such as checking a tissue sample and performing a bronchoscopy with specialized instruments to view airways. According to a study specific to ILD and similar pulmonary conditions, routine rheumatology assessments may minimize the need for more invasive diagnostic procedures in some instances. Researchers also believe diagnosis accuracy may be improved with adjustments to testing processes.