Doctor Error
The losses incurred by innocent victims of doctor error can be overwhelming, both financially and emotionally, and our medical malpractice attorneys have decades of accumulated experience helping patients and families who have suffered due to a doctor’s error.
More than Half of the Doctors Surveyed
A January 2008 release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services gave the results of a large doctor-error survey conducted with their support. Fifty-six percent of the doctors surveyed reported that they’d been involved with a serious medical error, 74% reported being involved with a minor error, and 66% with a “near miss.”
Many Possible Errors
As alarming as these numbers are, it doesn’t matter what the percentages of errors are when you’re already one of the thousands of patients who are harmed by a doctor error each year in the United States. The variety, severity and range of doctor errors include:
• failure to diagnose a medical condition
• diagnosing a condition that does not exist and then unnecessarily treating it
• misinterpreting medical imaging
• performing unnecessary surgery
• operating on the wrong body part or organ, or on the wrong patient
• making a mistake during surgery
Consequences of Doctor Errors
Doctors are trusted to provide their services in accord with a standard of medical care. When a doctor’s job performance does not meet this standard, it may be an instance of medical malpractice. The potential consequences of doctor error can be truly devastating and may include:
• Fatalities
• Infection
• Delayed healing
• Nerve, organ, or blood vessel damage
• Paralysis
• Permanent disability
• Coma
• Psychological problems
• Unnecessary treatment
Contact Lipsig, Shapey, Manus & Moverman
If you or someone you love has been the victim of a doctor error, learn more about your legal rights - speak with a New York medical malpractice attorney at our offices.