If you are about to undergo medical treatment in a hospital or physician’s office setting, you are right to want to know the worst that might happen. Patient self-education is becoming an increasingly important tool in preventing health care negligence. This is because with an education, the patient can ask the right questions of his or her care providers and have a better chance of spotting any danger signs before treatment begins.
The section below details some of the most common errors made in a treatment setting.
Foreign objects left behind: Depending upon what type of foreign object remains inside a patient, it could cause serious illnesses. Health care workers can prevent this error by keeping an accurate count of all equipment and materials used during the procedure and making sure they are accounted for.
Patient falls: Patients may fall down while walking, roll out of bed or fall during showers. Patients should never be left unattended and staff members should always utilize the standard safety equipment medical facilities provide.
Improper sterile techniques: There is a reason medical facilities have a strict set of standards for maintaining sterility. When staff members fail to maintain sterility, patient infections and other illnesses can occur.
Surgical positioning errors: When a patient is not positioned properly for any procedure, joint and nerve injuries might occur. Medical staff members are responsible for ensuring their patients are in the proper position for whatever procedure they are performing.
While the burden of performing medical procedures properly falls on the facility personnel, errors still occur. You should not have to suffer unduly because of someone’s mistake. This is why it is important for all who are injured due to medical malpractice in Colorado and Wyoming to learn their legal options.
Source: Rasmussen College, “Common Medical Errors,” Nadine Bengs, accessed July 31, 2015