LawyersBay
A trip to the hospital is not often an event we look forward to. Unless it is to welcome in new life, a hospital visit typically indicates a time of great personal difficulty, a potentially uncomfortable medical intervention, and a road to recovery.
Though healthcare professionals are committed to providing you with the best possible healthcare, there are rare occasions on which your hospital visit can be made all the worse. It is sometimes the case that patients receive inadequate or inappropriate care, which can cause additional pain and strife.
This is known as hospital negligence, indicating a profound failure of a healthcare body to uphold its duty of care to you as a patient. While rare, it can occur – and you should know what to look for in case it happens to you. Hospital negligence is grounds for civil action and could see you receive compensation for your experience. But what are the most common kinds of hospital negligence claims?
Read More: Personal Injury: What Is It and How Do You Know if You Have a Case?
Surgical Errors
Surgical errors are not the most common of hospital negligence claims but are relatively common – and particularly high profile. A surgical error might occur when a surgeon makes an unintended incision or wound during surgery, fails to properly carry out your procedure, or even leaves a surgical item in your body.
One high-profile, multi-million-pound negligence case was that of former NHS surgeon Sam Eljamel, who operated as the head of neurosurgery at a hospital in Scotland. He injured multiple patients during his career through botched surgeries, one of which saw him remove a patient’s tear duct instead of a brain tumour.
Medication and Dosage Errors
But hospital medical negligence does not just occur in the operating theatre. There is a whole medical team tasked with your correct treatment, from the nurses that change your bedding to the specialists that consult you on the next steps.
Read More: Gathering Evidence for a Personal Injury Claim
Another common cause of hospital negligence is incorrect or unnecessary prescriptions or errors with the dosage of your medication. A doctor may administer the wrong kind of drug, or give you an inappropriate dosage that results in adverse symptoms. These could not only slow your recovery but also worsen your condition. In order to get you compensated for your losses, Bogoroch will assist you in determining whether you were a victim of the hospital or medical malpractice.
Pregnancy and Birth Injuries
The most common form of hospital negligence relates to childbirth. Giving birth is a common but complicated process and one which requires a knowledgeable team to bring new children safely and effectively into the world. A number of elements can go wrong during childbirth, from mishandling of the baby to improper care of the mother.
One of the more severe forms of pregnancy negligence emerges where newborns are starved of oxygen during birth. This can result in the development of cerebral palsy – a preventable but lifelong condition with serious consequences for a new child.
Do you feel that you have been let down by a medical body, consequentially worsening your condition? It is imperative that you or your carer is aware of the standard of care that you are entitled to and that an understanding of your condition and the processes required for your recovery is established. The above examples should help you to identify whether you have been a victim of medical or hospital negligence and lead you on the way to compensational justice.