Birth injuries and other common medical errors

One type of medical error that New York patients may encounter is a medication mistake. This can happen at many different stages, including prescription, preparation and administration. A medication error could involve the wrong medication, the wrong amount or the wrong timing. It could occur because medications have similar names, because of mislabeling or because of poor communication.

Birth injuries are another common type of medical error. These can result in harm or even death for the mother or the child. Some birth injuries occur when the baby is too forcibly pulled from the birth canal during labor. These include fractures and facial paralysis. A baby may suffer oxygen deprivation because of problems with the umbilical cord, being left in the birth canal too long or being poorly supervised after birth. This can lead to brain injuries, seizures and cerebral palsy.

Some people may actually suffer from infections they acquire while in the hospital. Certain types of treatment may leave some patients particularly vulnerable. For example, a person might get an infection through a urinary catheter or a bloodstream infection from a central line. Ventilators may also cause infections. A person may develop an infection from a surgical site, or there could be an error during the surgery itself. These include operating on the wrong patient or body part

A patient who experiences a medical error may want to talk to an attorney about whether medical malpractice has occurred. From a legal standpoint, a few conditions must be met. One is that the patient must have suffered harm as a result of the error. Another is that the patient must not have received a reasonable standard of care. If medical negligence has occurred, the patient might be able to receive compensation through a settlement or a jury award.

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