While Yankee Alex Rodriguez is facing his own issues related to the 211-game suspension handed down in August, A-Rod also recently decided to file a lawsuit related to the medical care he received in October 2012. He claims that while an injury was clearly seen on a MRI, the Yankees physician did not tell him about the injury and cleared him to play.
It is frightening for any New York City resident to even think about, but the truth of the matter is surgeons can make mistakes while operating on a patient. Depending, these errors can lead to serious medical complications or even death. This means that a once simple surgery — with a high rate of success — can turn into a life or death situation when a surgeon makes a mistake.
When going in for a surgery, the doctor should fully disclose any associated risks. This way, a patient can decide to either consent to the surgery or look into other possible options.
Diagnostic errors may be a bigger problem than the general public realizes. In fact, when researchers from Johns Hopkins analyzed 350,000 medical malpractice payouts — stemming back 25 years — one-third of those payouts were the result of a misdiagnosis. This makes diagnostic errors one of the leading patient safety concerns in the U.S.
Surgeons are expected to be able to think quickly on their feet. This means that when a patient arrives at a hospital for an emergency, the surgeons and medical personnel on staff should be properly trained in how to best treat this patient.
