Baltimore Medical Malpractice Lawyers: States with More Malpractice Lawsuits
March 14, 2017
According to data collected by the National Practitioner Data Bank, physicians in Louisiana are more likely to be sued for medical malpractice than physicians in any other state. Also in the top five are Oklahoma, Delaware, Wyoming, and Tennessee. Physicians are least likely to face a medical malpractice lawsuit in Hawaii, followed by North Carolina, Georgia, South Dakota, and New Hampshire. Maryland is ranked number 26 on the list. In each of these lawsuits, the health care provider must have been negligent in some way, causing harm to the patient.
Following are some of the most common mistakes that lead to the majority of medical malpractice lawsuits:
- Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis: These account for the majority of medical malpractice complaints. When a physician fails to diagnose a condition in time, the patient’s condition can progress and become more difficult to treat. The main thing to consider here is how the treating doctor handled the case compared to how another physician within the same specialty would have handled the case.
- Childbirth Injuries: Birth injuries are often the result of mistakes that are made either during the pregnancy, or during or shortly after the birth process. The two most common factors in birth injuries occur during prenatal care and during the birth process:
- Negligent prenatal care: When a physician does not provide the proper prenatal care during the pregnancy, it can cause harm to the mother and/or the fetus. Examples of negligent prenatal care include a failure to diagnose a medical condition that the mother has, including preeclampsia or gestational diabetes; a failure to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy; or a failure to detect a birth defect.
- Negligence during the birth process: This can put the health and safety of the mother and baby in jeopardy. Examples include a failure to anticipate the complications, a lack of response to fetal distress, not ordering a cesarean section if it becomes necessary, or improper use of forceps.
- Medication Mistakes: Medication errors harm 1.5 million people every year in the United States. The majority of errors involve prescribing too little or too much of the drug.
- Anesthesia Errors: Anesthesia mistakes can be particularly dangerous because even the slightest error in dosage or administration can result in permanent brain damage, or even death. The following are examples of how an anesthesiologist can be considered negligent before and during administering the anesthesia:
- Failure to review patient history for possible complications
- Failure to provide necessary preoperative instructions
- Administering too much or too little anesthesia
- Failure to monitor patient’s vital signs
- Improper intubation
- Using equipment that is defective
- Surgical Errors: Whether a physician makes an error during the surgery itself, or a nurse makes a mistake during the postoperative care, this type of negligence can lead to serious complications and life-threatening infections.
Baltimore Medical Malpractice Lawyers at LeViness, Tolzman & Hamilton Represent Victims of Medical Negligence
If you have been seriously injured as a result of medical negligence, contact the Baltimore medical malpractice lawyers at LeViness, Tolzman & Hamilton. Our skilled legal team will thoroughly review the details of your case, including all relevant medical records to determine whether your healthcare professional was negligent in any way. If we find evidence of negligence, we will aggressively pursue the maximum financial compensation that you deserve. To schedule a free consultation, call us today at 800-547-4LAW (4529) or contact us online.
Our offices are located in Baltimore, Columbia, Glen Burnie, and Towson, allowing us to represent medical malpractice victims in Maryland, including those in Anne Arundel County, Carroll County, Harford County, Howard County, Montgomery County, Maryland’s Western Counties, Southern Maryland, and the Eastern Shore, as well as the communities of Catonsville, Essex, Halethorpe, Middle River, Rosedale, Gwynn Oak, Brooklandville, Dundalk, Pikesville, Nottingham, Windsor Mill, Lutherville, Timonium, Sparrows Point, Ridgewood, and Elkridge.
