Health care professionals have certain legal duties to ensure that they are providing the highest levels of care to all of their patients. Unfortunately, this does not always happen and can result in harm to the patients. Medical malpractice cases are filed by individuals who have been injured by medical providers, including doctors, nurses, hospitals, x-ray technicians or other health care professionals. Here is a look at some common reasons medical malpractice suits are filed in New Mexico and throughout the country.
The most common reason for a health care professional to be sued is failing to properly diagnose a patient’s condition. Some health conditions have similar symptoms, which can lead to a misdiagnosis and injury on the patient’s part if the doctor fails to acknowledge all symptoms and only focuses on a few of them. In some cases, a doctor may have failed to perform the necessary tests to rule out a certain condition before making a diagnosis, which turned out to be wrong.
Another common reason for a physician being sued is an error in the administration of medication. There are many factors that can allow something like this may occur, including the shortage of nursing staff in a hospital or the misinterpretation of the amount written on the chart due to poor handwriting. In other cases, the wrong medication may be given because it has a name similar to that of another drug.
If a New Mexico resident believes he or she has been injured by a health care professional, he or she may file a medical malpractice claim against the negligent party. To determine the best course of action and to validate whether one has a claim with merit, one may want to consider consulting with a legal professional. He or she will be able to review a case and assess its strengths and weaknesses.