Many people don't stop to think about the difference between a mistake and an error. When it comes to health care, this difference is as big as the Grand Canyon. A mistake regarding your health care is putting you in exam room 3 when you should have been put in exam room 1. An error is something that can have a negative impact on your health and life.
Are 30-hour shifts too long for doctors?
When you get to the hospital, you probably don't think of asking the doctor -- or the resident -- how long he or she has been working. You just expect excellent care. You're trusting these professionals with your health and perhaps your life.
Doctors must be able to make good decisions
As we discussed last week, our country's doctors are overworked and on the verge of burnout. These doctors are still charged with making decisions that can mean the difference between life or death. When a doctor does make an error, we can help you to hold the doctor accountable for the error by filing a medical malpractice claim.
American physicians are overworked
Many American physicians, a whopping 54 percent of them, say that they are overworked. The vice president of professional satisfaction at the American Medical Association says that this is a public health crisis.
Injuries during birth demand urgent action for accountability
Humans make mistakes. That is just part of life. But, there is a difference between a human mistake and a doctor's error. However, an error by a doctor's can be a totally different ballgame because these errors can lead to lifelong difficulties and even death.
Medical errors can be a real danger
It's honestly not something many people probably consider seriously on a regular basis. Despite common fears about going to the doctor or hospital, most people don't really consider that they might come away from treatment with more -- or different -- problems than they started with. According to a study published earlier this year, though, those problems are actually something that should be considered carefully.
The cause of a birth injury matters in claims for compensation
Birth defects are medical conditions that might have been prevented. In many cases, these injuries can affect entire families. The baby is affected because he or she has to live with the pain, health, life and social effects of the accident. The parents are affected because they have to care for the child and determine how to meet the child's needs. Siblings of the child might be affected because the special needs child requires more of the parents' energy and resources.
Don't blame patients for medical errors, blame providers
Each year, approximately 251,000 people in this country die from medical errors. Those deaths are considered preventable deaths. Even with that staggering figure being brought to light, there seems to be little being done to prevent those preventable deaths from occurring.
Medication errors during pregnancy can have devastating impacts
Pregnant women must be extra careful about what they ingest. This includes what medications they take. When a pregnant woman seeks medical care, her doctors must ensure that they aren't instructing her to take medications that can harm the baby or affect her pregnancy. Unfortunately, not all doctors take the proper precautions to ensure that the woman is only taking medications that are safe for use during pregnancy. We are here to help women who were given unsafe drugs during pregnancy to seek compensation for the harm occurred to her or her baby.
Can you prevent medical errors?
Doctors and nurses are people, and people sometimes make mistakes. While some medical errors are tragic results of situations that can't be avoided, thousands of errors in the United States each year that lead to injury or death can be avoided. Hospitals and physicians work regularly on training and procedures that reduce the risk of errors, but as the patient, you can also reduce the chance that you suffer after an avoidable mistake when pregnant.
