Top 5 medical errors that lead to death

Medical errors contribute to 250,000 deaths each year, which makes them one of the main causes of preventable deaths. Some of these deaths occur due to genuine errors by health professionals, while others are due to medical negligence or medical negligence.

When a patient is harmed or injured due to negligence or negligence, he can sue the medical care provider for damages. Keep reading to know some of the most common medical mistakes so you can take the necessary measures to protect yourself.

Medication errors

Medication errors are among the most common mistakes in world health systems. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), almost 50% of all preventable medical errors are due to the inappropriate use of medicines and other treatments.

The most common types of medication errors are:

• Administration errors: Administration errors may involve using the incorrect route of administration, giving medications to the wrong patient, administering expired medications or not giving the right dose to a patient
• Prescribe errors: Prescription errors represent a significant percentage of all medication errors. They can occur at any time in the prescription process and, often, to involve errors such as inappropriate or ineffective prescription, omit or delay prescriptions, and underground or underlined prescription medication.
• Labeling and packaging errors: Little instructions or poorly labeled medications can confuse patients. As a result, they could end up taking the incorrect dose or using the medication incorrectly.

Diagnostic errors

Late diagnosis or incorrect diagnosis can be mortal for a patient who needs medical care. When a doctor or hospital does not diagnose a time condition, the patient’s condition could deteriorate over time, which leads to serious complications or even death.

Common diagnostic errors include:

• Do not diagnose a disease: For example, when doctors do not diagnose colon cancer in a patient who has intestinal irritability, rectal bleeding and positive family history, they can be sued for it.
• Incorrect diagnosis: Incorrect diagnosis occurs when a doctor erroneously identifies a medical condition, which leads to a delayed or incorrect treatment. For example, a patient with chest pain and lack of breath can diagnose bronchitis instead of a pulmonary embolism, leading to serious complications or death.
• Delayed diagnosis: The delayed diagnosis is when a doctor does not identify a condition in time, which leads to a delayed treatment and health complications. A good example of delayed diagnosis is when a doctor rules out early cancer symptoms, such as fatigue or weight loss, until cancer reaches an advanced stage. This delayed diagnosis hinders treatment.

Childbirth and childbirth errors

There are certain complications during childbirth and childbirth that are beyond the control of a doctor. However, some complications can be prevented with adequate attention and early diagnosis.

Common mistakes that lead to childbirth injuries include the following:

• Incorrect use of labor induction methods
• Improper use of tweezers or vacuum extractors
• Do not detect fetal anguish signs
• Inability to prevent premature delivery
• Do not recognize the symptoms of uterine rupture
• Lack of timely intervention in cases of maternal anguish

Laboratory errors

Errors in laboratory tests may have serious consequences, especially when it comes to conditions that threaten life. The most common but preventable laboratory errors include the following:

• Data input errors: Data entry can be a big problem for medical laboratories that still manually enter patient test requests in their systems. It can cause errors such as the misinterpretation of writing by hand, writing errors and records out of place or lost. To minimize these errors, medical laboratories must use modern laboratory information systems to optimize the data entry process.
• Patient identification errors: Errors in patient identification can lead to an erroneous diagnosis or incorrect treatment.
• Overdue reagents: Laboratory reagents have a limited useful life, after which their chemical properties change. The use of defeated reagents can significantly affect the laboratory results, affecting the process of diagnosis and treatment of patients. To avoid such problems, medical facilities must follow the manufacturer’s instructions regarding the storage and expiration dates of the reagents.

Surgical errors

Surgical errors are quite common but preventable. In fact, they constitute a large percentage of medical negligence claims. Most of these incidents occur due to lack of training, lack of communication and adequate distractions during a surgical procedure. Depending on how serious the situation is, the patient may suffer serious injuries, infections or even death.

Some of the most common surgical errors that often lead to medical negligence claims include:

• Perform a negligently surgical procedure: This happens when a surgeon or medical professional does not follow the established standard of care, which causes damage or complications for the patient. Common examples include incorrect site surgery, incorrect placement of screws and leave surgical tools inside the body.
• Delay in carrying out a surgical procedure: Sometimes, a patient may need urgent surgery to save his life. If doctors do not respond in time, the patient could suffer serious complications, sometimes leading to death.
• Do not properly control and prevent infection in the surgical site: It is easy to obtain an infection at the surgery site. However, the surgeon must take the correct precautions to reduce the risk of infections. They must sterilize their equipment, prescribe antibiotics and monitor the patient after surgery. Otherwise, it can lead to serious complications, and the patient can sue them for medical negligence.
• Recommend and carry out high risk surgery that is not medically necessary: Surgery is a risky procedure that should be performed only when necessary. If a doctor recommends surgery when it is not medically necessary, it can be sued for medical negligence.
• Do not perform the necessary surgical treatment when required medically. Surgery must be a last resort, but sometimes it is the most effective treatment. When a doctor does not recommend surgery when it is clearly necessary, it can be considered medical negligence.

Protect against medical errors

Some medical errors are due to genuine human errors, while others are caused by negligence and negligence. Regardless of the situation, you can sue the hospital or the medical care provider if your actions cause you to harm your loved one.

To protect yourself, you must always ask questions and look for second opinions.