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When you seek medical care for an illness or injury, you rightfully expect that the treatment you receive will make you better, not worse. Furthermore, you expect that the healthcare professionals that provide treatment will do their jobs carefully and in accordance with the accepted standards of care in the medical profession.

Unfortunately, every day, people are injured by the carelessness or negligence of healthcare professionals. In some cases, medical malpractice leaves people with debilitating injuries or conditions from which they will never fully recover.

Under Texas medical malpractice law, victims are often entitled to compensation for all of their malpractice-related losses, including their lost income, lost quality of life, medical expenses, and physical and emotional pain and suffering. To learn whether you are entitled to compensation, call Houston medical malpractice attorney Warren Muhammad today to schedule a free case evaluation.

What is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional like a doctor, surgeon, nurse practitioner, or nurse fails to provide the level of care that would ordinarily be provided by a healthcare professional with similar skill or training.

As a patient, it’s important to understand that not every adverse medical outcome or means that malpractice occurred. Similarly, healthcare professionals are not expected to be perfect, and mistakes do happen. The question is whether a reasonable medical professional with similar skill and training would have engaged in the same course of action; if not, it’s likely that malpractice has occurred and that victims are entitled to compensation for their losses.

Types of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice can take many forms and happen in many different healthcare scenarios. The following are only some examples of medical negligence that can lead to preventable patient injuries and potential legal claims.

Surgical Errors

There is always risk involved when it comes to surgical procedures, and your doctors should fully inform you of all the risks of your specific surgery. If a doctor fails to inform you of a risk, and that specific injury occurs, the doctor might be considered to be negligent. In addition, many errors can happen as a result of negligence before, during, and after the procedure, including:

• Not fully reviewing medical records to assess risks
• Not properly sanitizing hands or equipment
• Operating while fatigued or impaired
• Operating on the wrong body part
• Performing the wrong procedure on a patient
• Leaving sponges or other foreign objects inside a patient
• Improper Intubation
• Inadequate followup care and monitoring

Medication Errors

Physicians write many prescriptions on a regular basis, and they should always take proper precautions before giving patients the authority to possess certain medications. Doctors should inquire about allergies, current medications, and more to identify any possible adverse effects or reactions. If they fail to do so, a patient might suffer serious side effects or complications.

In addition, hospitals administer many types of medication to many patients each and every day. Nurses and staff members are busy, and they should always keep careful and accurate records of medication distribution, as well as check records before administering medication to a patient. Not doing so can result in:

• Giving a patient the wrong medication
• Overdosing a patient
• Skipping necessary doses

Missed Diagnosis

Doctors are trained to evaluate a patient’s symptoms and determine what the underlying causes of those symptoms may be. Furthermore, in many cases, diagnostic testing is the standard next step after an initial evaluation in order to confirm a potential diagnosis or obtain more information. When doctors fail to properly diagnose a patient or order additional testing, it can result in serious medical conditions going untreated and potentially getting worse.

Anesthesia Errors

Anesthesiologists have a critical job, as they ensure that patients have the proper medication to have surgical procedures, get through labor and delivery of a baby, and more. However, any mistakes by anesthesiologists can be serious or even life-threatening. Some errors that can cause injuries include:

• Giving too much anesthesia
• Not giving sufficient drugs, resulting in a patient waking up or being aware during a procedure
• Injection site injuries, especially near the spinal cord
• Not identifying possible allergic reactions to anesthesia

Birth Injuries

Birth injuries are often a result of medical malpractice during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. In many cases, this type of malpractice can irrevocably alter the course of victims’ lives and results in millions of dollars in losses. Some examples of medical negligence that can lead to birth injuries include improper use of forceps or vacuum tubes, failure to monitor fetal vital signs, failure to diagnose health conditions in the mother, and failure to order a cesarean section in a timely manner.

What Should You Do if You Believe You Have Been the Victim of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice comes as a shock to many victims. When you start to realize that your healthcare professional has acted negligently, it can be difficult to know what to do next. Here are some of the things you should do to protect your rights if you think that you have been hurt by a careless healthcare professional:

• Request and keep all records related to your medical care
• Do not accept a settlement offer, either from the healthcare professional or his or her insurance company
• Keep a detailed journal about the ways in which the malpractice has affected your life
• Continue with any prescribed medical treatment for your illness or injury
• Avoid social media use while your case is pending
• Do not provide any insurance companies that contact you with a recorded statement
• CALL A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ATTORNEY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE 

Call Us Today for a Free Consultation with a Houston Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you believe that you or a family member have been the victim of medical malpractice, you should contact an attorney as soon as you can. Attorney Warren F. Muhammed has been practicing law for 40 years and is dedicated to helping his clients obtain the compensation to which they are entitled under Texas law. To schedule your case evaluation with Mr. Muhammad, call our office today at 832.297.9721 or contact us online.