Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Lawyers
When a person trusts their doctor or dentist with performing a medical procedure, they are putting their trust and their health into the hands of their chosen medical professional. While many doctors and dentists perform these procedures to a very high standard, accidents and mistakes can occur which can prove damaging or fatal to the patient receiving their treatment. These cases of medical malpractice occur throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well as around the country. With that, it is important for these patients and their families to be fairly compensated for these mistakes. Recent studies have shown that in hospital deaths stemming from these medical malpractice cases have jumped to around 180,000 per year in the United States, making this an alarming problem that one should always prepare themselves for.
If you or a loved one have been the victim of medical malpractice anywhere in Pennsylvania including Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, York, Harrisburg, Allentown, Lancaster or Reading it behooves you to speak with an experienced Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorney.
Medical Malpractice and Surgical Errors
Surgical errors are some of the most devastating medical malpractice situations facing residents of Pennsylvania and the nation. These cases of medical malpractice can have serious consequences that can even result in death, and some of the most commonly found medical malpractice situations revolving around surgical mistakes are:
- Infection
- Death
- Wrong patient surgery
- Over anesthetizing the patient
- Poor outcome
- Internal bleeding
- Disfigurement
Each of these mistakes are ones that are commonly found within medical malpractice cases involving surgery, and they all can carry life changing consequences to the patient and their families. Often, surgical medical malpractice situations will leave the patient and their family with ongoing medical expenses as well as other negative effects, causing the need for compensation to be great.
Failed or Delayed Diagnosis Cases
Another set of common of medical malpractice cases not having to do with surgical cases are those having to do with patients suffering from a failed diagnoses or delayed diagnoses. These cases are shockingly common, and they revolve around doctors failing to diagnose their patients properly or in a timely fashion, causing the patient to miss out on treatment opportunities that may have saved them from further suffering or death. The way that most patients who have experienced a failed or delayed diagnosis win their cases against their doctors is by comparing their own situations to others where doctors have diagnosed the same illness or injury in a timelier fashion, thereby allowing their patients to undergo the correct treatments to save them from further suffering.
A failed or delayed diagnosis is a particularly traumatic malpractice situation for any patient to experience, as these situations will normally cause a patient to miss lifesaving or less unpleasant treatment plans, thereby resulting in more difficult experiences than what would otherwise be necessary for the patient. While these malpractice cases may be more difficult to obtain a settlement for, it is certainly not impossible for them to be carried out efficiently in a court of law by the correct skilled lawyer.
Birth Injury Medical Malpractice Cases
Injuries caused to babies during the course of childbirth also make up a great deal of today’s medical malpractice cases, and these situations can be devastating to both the lives of the children as well as the lives of the parents. Fetal brain injuries, broken bones, Klumpke’s Palsy, and other injuries are commonly cited as due to various forms of malpractice during the course of pregnancy and childbirth, causing parents to take these cases to court in order to seek a settlement for their child’s damages. While these cases may be difficult to win in a court of law, they are somewhat easier if the malpractice is said to have occurred during the course of the birth by the doctor or obstetrician’s negligence.
Hospital Negligence Injury Lawyers Pennsylvania
It is assumed, that when you leave a parent, grandparent or loved one in the care of a nursing home or assisted living home that they will be taken care of and attended to properly. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Often times due to neglect on the part of the staff, your loved ones may become injured and suffer needlessly.
Bedsores are a common injury sustained in a nursing home or assisted living home is the development of pressure ulcers also known as decubitus ulcers or bedsores. Bedsores are localized skin injuries commonly impacting the heels, hips and buttocks. They are caused by the victim not being properly supervised or cared for as they experience a lack of blood flow, oxygen and other nutrients to the affected area.
Choking is also referred to as asphyxiation or suffocation, can be induced by various causes such as food not being properly portioned , breathing tubes being in place, inability to swallow pills or medications, patient being improperly, unnecessarily or unjustly restrained.Choking is a very preventable accident. They can be prevented through proper medical care and effective patient monitoring. Also, injuries or death caused by choking may not always be the fault of the nursing home. Choking and asphyxiation injuries may however reiterate a pattern of neglect on the part of the nursing home or assisted living home.
Clostridium Difficile is also known as as C-Diff and is a type of Gram-positive bacteria of the Cloistridium genus. In some individuals C. Diff resides naturally in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In most cases the spores enter the body during a hospital, assisted living home or nursing home stay. C. Diff infection can cause severe abdominal issues and, in some cases accidental/wrongful death.
Dehydration is a serious medical condition caused by the body losing more fluids than are taken in. Young, healthy people can tolerate some form of minimal dehydration without any serious physical repercussions. Elderly people are not as fortunate however. Dehydration is a very common injury stemming from hospital malpractice and negligence.
Elopement is a term used to describe when a nursing home, or assisted living home, resident wanders off on their own, without being escorted by a staff or family member. Elopement, and wandering off, can place your loved ones in very dangerous situations and is a direct result of hospital negligence.
Falls are a very important safety concern is fall prevention while in a nursing home or convalescent facility. Elderly people are not as physically resilient as young people. A hospital fall can induce serious and life threatening injuries, especially if the victim is an elderly person.
Malnutrition is a very serious condition stemming from Inadequate food intake or insufficient ingestion of nutrients. Even if ample quantities of food is taken in, but the type of foods are incorrect, the diet may be unbalanced and malnutrition can still be the ultimate result. Malnutrition can impact the body, its functioning and its systems on many levels such as hormonal, mental and physical. An elderly, or disabled, person suffering from malnutrition due to nursing home neglect or assisted living home negligence may endure extremely severe and dire health consequences.
Wrongful death can be a result of severe cases of hospital abuse, negligence or neglect in Pennsylvania hospitals and healthcare facilities. Accidental death due to nursing home abuse or neglect can be caused by a number of errors, factors or circumstances.
Medication Error Malpractice Injuries
Medication error cases can be caused by a variety of different malpractice scenarios:
- The doctor prescribes an incorrect medication
- The medication is correct, but the incorrect amount of medication is administered
- Medication administering equipment is found to have a fault, causing an incorrect dosage
- The medication prescribed is for a misdiagnosed ailment
These medication errors are not rare in today’s hospitals and doctor’s office, and taking the incorrect medication or an incorrect dose of the correct medication can prove to have some very serious and even fatal consequences for any patient.
Malpractice Errors Involving Anesthesia
Medical malpractice cases involving anesthesia or the administering of certain anesthetics can be some of the most dangerous cases found today. What may seem like a minor mistake by the part of an anesthesiologist can result in a patient experiencing serious injury, brain damage, or even fatal consequences. These malpractice situations can happen before or during the course of a surgery, and they can involve various factors revolving around the safe anesthetizing of the patient. Some situations commonly cited in medical malpractice cases are:
- Improper intubation
- Too high dosage
- Failing to efficiently monitor vital signs
- Overlooking potential complications in patient history
- Faulty equipment
- Failure to inform of risks
Finding The Right Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Lawyer
In the Bethlehem, West Chester, Pittsburgh and Scranton, PA areas, medical malpractice cases are seen just as frequently as any other region around the nation, and the only way for a patient to get the settlement they deserve out of their medical malpractice case is by using the help of a skilled medical malpractice attorney. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is home to many skilled attorneys who specialize in these common situations, and are well versed in the local laws revolving around medical malpractice. The representation of such an attorney will ensure that any patient, or patient’s family, will get the compensation they deserve to cover the losses they’ve incurred due the mistakes of the medical community.
Contact our Allentown, Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers today to discuss your case free of charge. They charge no legal fees of any sort if they do not recover on your behalf.