Medical Malpractice Attorney in Dayton

Common Causes of Malpractice

Malpractice takes many different forms and does not always result in outright injury. In fact, the more lethal forms of malpractice do not present themselves in the form of scars, objects left in patients, or other physically visible maladies. The most common causes of medical malpractice are as follows:

• Diagnostic Errors: Diagnostic errors make up approximately one-third of all medical malpractice claims, which includes errors related to lab testing, or a doctor’s failure to appropriately assess a patient.
• Surgical Errors: Surgical and procedural errors were the second-most common causes of medical malpractice claims. Surgical errors often arise when surgeons perform a procedure on the part of the body, on the wrong patient, or perform the wrong procedure entirely. It is also not uncommon for surgeons to leave instruments or objects inside patients’ bodies.
• Medical Mismanagement: Medical mismanagement may involve giving too many blood transfusions, administering too much oxygen, causing infections, prematurely discharging patients, failing to follow up with patients, and ignoring patients’ claims that they are in persistent pain post-surgery.
• Medication Errors: Medication errors occur when the physician prescribes the wrong medication or the wrong dose, when the pharmacist fills the wrong medication, prescribes the wrong dose, or mixes up medications, or when the prescribing doctor fails to take into consideration adverse drug reactions that may occur by mixing drugs.

Holding the Appropriate Person Accountable

If you wish to hold the appropriate medical professional accountable for your own injuries or for the injuries or death of a loved one, you need to act fast. The general statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases in Ohio is one year after the alleged medical error.  Ohio courts held that the time period begins when you detect the accident injury or if your relationship with the healthcare provider ends, whichever happens later.