Medical Malpractice in Houston: What You Need to Know

Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals are humans too. They are not perfect, and they are bound to make mistakes. However, when they make mistakes, these can sometimes lead to catastrophic injury and death.

If you or a loved one has sustained injuries or even death due to a medical professional’s mistake, you deserve proper compensation for the losses and suffering. 

Nothing can make up for a medical injury or the death of a loved one. However, the compensation you will receive due to a medical professional’s negligence will help you and your family cope with the tragedy. It will also help you move forward with your life. 

What’s Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice can come in a variety of forms. According to recent data, these are the most common ones:

• Birth injuries
• Dangerous drugs
• Hospital negligence
• Doctor errors
• Nursing errors
• Nursing home negligence
• Defective medical devices

Let’s take a look at the details of the most common medical malpractice cases.

Hospital and Doctor Errors

For many, it is hard to determine whether the cause of injury or death was due to their existing health problem or negligent hospital error. Why? Because no one wants to believe that their doctor was negligent. 

When patients enter a clinic or a hospital for medical treatment, they think that doctors and nurses will take good care of them. Furthermore, the proper procedure will be carried out by the medical professional to resolve their medical problem.

However, this is not the case most of the time. Unfortunately, hospitals across Texas have experienced such issues. Every year, dozens of patients are harmed due to the negligence of medical professionals.

So what is considered hospital and doctor errors? Let’s a look at the details below:

• Medication errors

Before giving you any medication, a medical professional will always ask if you have existing allergies. They will also ask if you’ve experienced any allergic reaction to any drug.

So if you were prescribed medicine without them asking you the details about your medical history, you could use this against the medical professional. 

Furthermore, if you receive the wrong drug or the wrong dosage of the proper medication, you can file a case against the hospital. 

• Surgical errors

When the doctor reviews the wrong patient file, a surgical error may happen. Or the wrong part of the body is operated on or when foreign objects like sponges and surgical tools are left in the patient’s body. These are grounds for a medical malpractice case.

• Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose

When the doctor fails to order the correct test and review it promptly, a misdiagnosis can occur—even failure to refer to a specialist when necessary are grounds for a misdiagnosis case. 

You may not be sure if an injury or death was caused by negligence, but if you suspect that it’s due to medical malpractice. It’s best to talk to an attorney. 

Nursing Home Negligence

According to a recent statistic, elder abuse in Texas nursing homes is becoming a problem. Usually, staffing and training deficiencies are often the root cause of nursing home injuries. Nursing home abuse and neglect may come in a variety of forms. Let’s a look at the list below:

• Negligent care

When the nursing home is unable to provide adequate care, resulting in injury or even death

• Physical abuse

Inflicting physical pain or injury, or unreasonable confinement

• Sexual abuse
• Exploitation

Illegally taking, misusing or concealing the funds, properties or assets of seniors citizens.

Most of the time, signs of elder abuse are subtle. And seniors fail to report such events. So if an elderly relative or friend has unexplained injuries, you may file a personal injury lawsuit. 

However, if the abuse has led to death, you may consider a wrongful death lawsuit. The laws on elder abuse are pretty complex, and it keeps on changing. Therefore, hiring an experienced nursing home negligence attorney can make a huge difference. 

Conclusion

Medical malpractice can come in many ways. And you may think that finding the justice you deserve might be a tedious task. But, looking for a medical malpractice attorney Houston is relatively easy. You only need to make sure that you will contact a well-established firm. And that your attorney is Board Certified.

Having a seasoned medical malpractice attorney on your side will ensure that you will get the justice and compensation you rightfully deserve.