The Most Common Medical Negligence Claim Causes

The UK has one of the best healthcare systems in the world, with the government always working to enhance the structure by providing its citizens with all the best facilities and funding the hospitals as well. Despite all this care and attention, the NHS is putting aside billions of pounds every year from their budget to cover for the medical negligence claims.

When you feel sick, or sustain an injury, the first thing you do is seek a trusted medical professional to get the necessary treatment. You head over to the hospital thinking that the doctors and the medical staff will only work for your best interests and make efforts to ensure all your issues are resolved. This is true in most cases, however, there are a few instances where negligence prevails. Every year there are thousands of cases where the doctors and technicians end up causing harm instead of good for their patients.

If you or someone close to you finds themselves in a position where the medical professionals have committed an error or demonstrated negligence, as a result of which injuries and illnesses were developed, contact Hamilton Douglas Legals to get in touch with the best medical negligence solicitors in Glasgow. Our highly experienced and professional team of lawyers understands the complexity and sensitivity of claim cases and knows what needs to be done to get you the compensation you’re entitled to.

Speaking of medical negligence, there are various factors that cause such mishaps. Let’s shed light on some of the most prominent ones.

Delays In Treatment

Even though the NHS has been working to enhance their processes, due to which the waiting times have been improving, there are still plenty of delayed cases. These delayed cases are one of the most leading causes of medical negligence claims. Not tending to an ill patient, or delaying treatment of any patient leads to exacerbation of their already bad condition. Consequently, the condition worsens, and in some cases, there are fatalities as well. There are a plethora of reports that prove how patients had to wait for weeks, or even months, to get surgery for extremely painful conditions. Moreover, delays are also witnessed in maternity wards. Surprisingly, the maternity wards account for almost half of the total medical negligence claims. The worst thing about medical delays is that even a few hours of postponement in the treatment can cause a big difference to the patient’s condition.

Wrong Diagnosis

Although the UK health care system is seeing great improvements, there are still some less-funded hospitals and clinics that do not have the latest equipment and experienced medical professionals. Since these hospitals often charge less as compared to the fully funded ones, a lot of people choose to get treated here. When a patient gets a misdiagnosis, they will have to wait for a long time before they receive another proper diagnosis and ultimately the right treatment. Treatment for an illness that was wrongly diagnosed, will definitely put obstacles in the recovery process, leading to more problems rather than betterment. There has been a rich profusion of misdiagnosis cases in the UK, where doctors and technicians could not determine the root cause of the problem, or when they did, it was too late.

Apart from putting a great threat to a patient’s life, misdiagnosis also has a significant impact on the person’s mental health, putting them in severe stress and tension. Unfortunately, even the most experienced and professional doctors are found committing these errors mainly because they run on a tight schedule while dealing with a lot of cases at once, and consequently, they miss out on things.

Prescribing The Wrong Medicines

Another most common cause of medical negligence is medication errors, something that should NEVER happen. There are so many cases where either the patients were given too many medicines or prescribed a completely wrong medicine for their illness; all these factors can lead to devastating outcomes. There have been examples where patients consulted the doctor for minor pain, and their painkiller dosages were doubled or tripled, which led to serious conditions, and even death. All this comes under the negligence of the medical staff.

Mistakes Made In The Emergency Wards Or Anesthesia Errors

When patients go into an emergency room or are going through a treatment that requires taking anesthesia, the medical staff needs to have all the medical records of the patient, and take great care in every step they take. A subtle mistake in administering the amount of anesthesia can lead to severe health issues and even fatalities. Similarly, wrong emergency room procedures can cause devastating results. Unfortunately, this factor has been prevalent in the hospitals and clinics of the UK as well.

Surgical Errors

It’s safe to say that any error occurring on the operating table is always unintentional. However, these errors are always considered as negligence. There are abundant cases where surgical instruments were left in the body before stitching it up, or the surgeons mistakenly operated on the wrong area.

All the above-mentioned cases are quite common in the UK. If you, or anyone you know, has experienced such negligence, which led to your pain or suffering, know that you’re entitled to file a claim against them and win monetary compensation. Get in touch with us to get a free consultation on all the legal matters and get the best service on a no win no fee basis.