Unlike a general medical error, which can be caused by various healthcare professionals and associated personnel, doctor errors are specific to your treating doctor.
What Are Doctor Errors?
As with general medical errors, a doctor error is a preventable adverse effect of care that you suffer at the hands of your doctor which causes you harm.
Common Doctor Errors
Some doctor errors are more common than others. Some of the most common doctor errors are caused by your doctor:
- Misdiagnosing you
- Performing unnecessary medical treatments on you
- Performing unnecessary medical tests and high-risk procedures on you
- Prescribing incorrect medication and/or dosage to you
- Providing uncoordinated care to you
- Missing warning signs that you present with
- Discharging you prematurely
The Case Of The Sheridan Family
The Sheridans, a family from Boise, Idaho, experienced two major doctor errors on two different family members and on two separate occasions. Both errors were severe, and one of them even led to death.
On March 23, 1995, the Sheridans’ son, Cal, was born. He was born healthy, though a visual assessment indicated that he was jaundiced. Sue, Cal’s mother, explained that the doctors assured her that many newborns are born with signs of jaundice, but that it isn’t severe and is largely normal. Subsequently, Sue and Cal were discharged, and a bilirubin test was not done.
Four days after discharge, Cal’s jaundice had not improved, and he was becoming lethargic. Upon consulting with their doctor, Sue and her husband were told to wait 24 hours to see if Cal would improve. He didn’t improve, and he was admitted to the hospital the next day. A bilirubin test was done which revealed that Cal had a high bilirubin count and that an exchange transfusion was recommended. Cal only received phototherapy.
By the sixth day, Cal displayed symptoms of kernicterus – a kind of brain damage which is caused by jaundice. Though he was finally treated for his jaundice after this, it was too late. Cal now has athetoid cerebral palsy, hearing loss, crossed eyes, and other abnormalities as a result of his doctor’s errors.
Many years later, Sue’s husband, Pat, had a neck lesion removed and biopsied. The biopsy revealed that the lesion was a malignant form of cancer, however, this was not documented in Pat’s pathology report by his doctor. As a result, Pat was told that the cancer in his lesion was benign and he was treated according to this incorrect information. Unfortunately, Pat’s cancer eventually spread throughout his body and took his life – something that could have been prevented or delayed had his doctor not made the error.
Legal Matters
As with all medical malpractice lawsuits, it is best to consult with a medical malpractice lawyer who is well-versed in the laws specific to your state.
Your NYC medical malpractice attorney will be able to guide you through the basic steps of bringing a medical malpractice case forward in the state of NY.
Contact
If you believe that you or a family member may have been a victim of a doctor error, please contact the medical malpractice lawyers of Rosenburg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff LLP in NYC today and speak to one of our medical malpractice attorneys.
When you are ready to talk, we are ready to listen. Call 212-344-1000 for a free, confidential consultation.
