The Three Most Common Types of Medical Malpractice

There are many ways a situation could lead to a medical malpractice claim. But for the majority of medical malpractice claims they fall into three different categories.

The first category is failure to diagnose. This happens when a doctor should have discovered a patient’s illness or made a different diagnosis then they initially shared. But most importantly a better outcome would have been achieved had the doctor made a different discovery. The patient would be able to develop a medical malpractice claim around the idea that a better outcome could have been achieved than what the outcome actually was.

The next category that a medical malpractice case could fall under is improper treatment. This is essentially when a doctor treats their patient in a way that no other competent doctor would do.

The final most common category that a medical malpractice claim could fall under is the failure to warn a patient of known risks associated with surgery or treatment, also known as informed consent. If a patient goes through a procedure under the care of the doctor after they were informed of the risks and did not want to go through with the procedure, then the doctor may very well be liable for medical malpractice if the patient is injured during or by the procedure.

This is especially scary if you are just now realizing you may have been the victim of medical malpractice by a doctor. But the next step is crucial. If you feel you have been wronged by a doctor it is important to reach out to an attorney as soon as possible to discuss the situation. This should provide you comfort in knowing that an attorney can help you hold the doctor accountable. To report malpractice please call (505) 242-7200.