No medical procedure is without risk, and some patients suffer negative outcomes despite the best efforts of their doctors. Sometimes these errors are due to negligence and can have serious long-term consequences. If you’re the victim of one of these mistakes, here’s how a medical malpractice claim can help you collect compensation for your injuries.

When Can You Sue a Doctor for Medical Malpractice?

1. Misdiagnosis

A misdiagnosis can result in unnecessary medical treatments, some of which could have serious side effects. Meanwhile, your actual condition may go untreated and require additional procedures that a timely diagnosis could have avoided. While not every misdiagnosis provides grounds for a medical malpractice suit, you may be able to file a claim if it can be proven that another similarly trained doctor would not have made the same mistake.

2. Surgical Error

Mistakes in the surgical room can have severe consequences. Surgeons may leave sponges or other implements inside a patient, requiring further surgery and another recovery period. In these cases, you may be able to sue for all of your additional medical expenses, as well as the pain and suffering the unnecessary surgeries have caused.

3. Medication Error

A medication error can occur at any phase of treatment. Doctors may prescribe the incorrect dosage or the wrong medication for your particular condition. In some cases, they might not notice that the medication they’re prescribing has dangerous interactions with medicine you’re already taking.

Pharmacists can also make mistakes when reading prescriptions or fail to provide adequate instructions about when and how the medicine should be taken. Even hospital staff can make mistakes when administering medication, either by giving you the wrong medication, providing too much, or forgetting a dose. In any of these cases, you may be able to sue for medical malpractice.

If you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice, the attorneys at Lee, Livingston, Lee, Nichols & Barron, P.C., in Dothan, AL, have the resources and experience to help you achieve justice. This law firm has been representing clients for over a century, earning a reputation for honesty, integrity, and reliable results. Visit their website for more on their personal injury services, or call (334) 792-4156 to schedule your consultation today.