Arlington, Virginia Medical Malpractice Lawyer

• Surgical errors: All surgeries involve fundamental risks, making it important for surgeons to be skilled and prepared. However, in cases where a patient’s injury is directly the result of a healthcare provider’s surgical mistakes, medical negligence could be to blame. Surgical errors can include anesthesia errors, nerve damage, leaving a piece of surgical equipment inside a patient, accidental incisions, and internal bleeding.
• Diagnostic errors: Diagnostic errors can include a missed, delayed, or incorrect diagnosis by your doctor or other medical professionals. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the top three missed or delayed diagnoses are colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and breast cancer. Missing or delaying these diagnoses can fail proper treatment, causing unnecessary harm to a patient’s quality of life or possibly death.
• Birth injury: Birth injuries to a baby can occur both in and out of the womb during the process of childbirth, resulting in injuries or long-term effects, including fractured bones, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, and oxygen deprivation.
• Medication errors: Examples of medication errors include administering the wrong prescription or the wrong dose of medication, mislabeling medication, prescribing unsafe medicines, and failing to warn about the side effects of medication. Depending on the nature of the error, the consequences can sometimes be fatal.
• Premature discharge from the hospital: Not all early discharges warrant a medical malpractice charge. Sometimes, a patient would have passed away or become ill from their condition regardless of extended care being given. However, if a patient could have been helped with an extended hospital stay, and it is found that their injuries or death is a direct result of the premature discharge, you could have a medical malpractice lawsuit.
• Errors in the Emergency Room: Emergency rooms are often busy and overcrowded, particularly in urban settings. However, healthcare workers must still practice due diligence, collect the patient’s medical history, and triage people efficiently and thoroughly. A catastrophe can occur if an error is made in the emergency room due to inadequate treatment.

Punitive Damages: Punitive damages are much less commonly awarded than compensatory damages. They are awarded in medical negligence cases when a medical professional exhibits a willful breach of the standard of care. As the responsible party, they are punished for their action or inaction as a consequence and/or deterrent.