Patients expect to go to the hospital and receive the care they need. They never expect that they will have to deal with their medical team making an error in their care. Unfortunately, many types of errors can occur, and these are sometimes fatal.
When a patient dies while they’re being treated in a hospital, the cause isn’t always clear. Families may be told that there were complications, but that doesn’t mean the complications weren’t avoidable. Here are several examples of preventable mistakes that can be fatal.
Missed or delayed diagnosis
Some fatal errors start with a missed or delayed diagnosis. Medical care teams may miss the signs of an illness or injury. For example, they may not have put the correct diagnosis on the differential diagnosis list, so they not have tested for it. This is common when the symptoms the patient is experiencing are associated with more than one medical condition.
Medication errors
Medication errors can have fatal consequences. These can involve a patient receiving the wrong drug or wrong dose. A missed allergy and a dangerous drug interaction are also possible. Medications in hospitals often go through more than one person, so each step introduces the chance of an error occurring.
Surgical “never events”
Surgical “never events” are among the most serious safety failures that can occur in a hospital. These include surgery on the wrong part of the body and a procedure being done or the wrong patient. Another major issue is when items are left in the patient’s body after the surgery. Hospitals have specific protocols they must follow to reduce the risk of these events occurring, but those aren’t always followed precisely.
Why expert testimony is necessary
When a patient dies because of the negligence of a medical team member, surviving loved ones can bring a wrongful death lawsuit based on medical malpractice. Under California law, nearly all such cases require plaintiffs to present the testimony of a medical expert to address whether the medical professional(s) being held liable followed the appropriate standard of care and if not (which is generally the case in these lawsuits), how that failure led to the patient’s injury – or in this case, their death. Note that the state has different legal standards for fatal neglect of those who die in elder care facilities.
While the claim won’t bring the loved one back, it may help those grieving the loss to find closure. Having experienced legal guidance is beneficial for family members going through this situation.
