Chicago Medical Negligence Lawyers

Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis

A timely and accurate diagnosis can be critical to successful treatment. When a healthcare provider fails to recognize symptoms or order appropriate testing, a serious condition may go untreated. Diagnostic negligence may involve:

• Failing to recognize warning signs
• Misinterpreting test results
• Failing to order appropriate diagnostic tests
• Delaying a referral to a specialist
• Failing to follow up on abnormal results
• Diagnosing the wrong medical condition
• Failing to communicate a diagnosis to the patient

A delayed diagnosis of cancer, stroke, heart attack, infection, or another serious condition can allow an illness to progress and make treatment more difficult. In some cases, a delayed or missed diagnosis can be fatal.

Surgical Errors

Surgery carries inherent risks, but some surgical injuries result from preventable mistakes. Potential surgical negligence may include:

• Operating on the wrong patient
• Performing surgery on the wrong body part
• Leaving an object inside a patient’s body
• Causing preventable damage to organs, tissue, or nerves
• Performing an inappropriate procedure
• Failing to recognize complications
• Failing to properly monitor a patient after surgery
• Administering improper anesthesia

An investigation is necessary to determine whether a surgical complication was an unavoidable risk or resulted from a departure from the appropriate standard of care.

Medication Errors

Patients depend on healthcare providers to prescribe, administer, and monitor medications appropriately. Medication mistakes can cause serious injuries, particularly when a patient receives a medication that is contraindicated or receives the wrong dose. Medication negligence can involve:

• Prescribing the wrong medication
• Administering the wrong medication
• Prescribing an incorrect dosage
• Failing to account for allergies
• Failing to recognize dangerous drug interactions
• Failing to review a patient’s medical history
• Failing to monitor for adverse reactions
• Failing to provide appropriate medication instructions

A medication error may happen at a hospital, doctor’s office, pharmacy, nursing facility, or other healthcare setting.t, special education services, and other forms of support.

Birth Injuries and Obstetric Negligence

Pregnancy and childbirth require careful monitoring of both the mother and baby. Medical negligence before or during delivery can result in severe injuries. Potential examples include:

• Failure to recognize fetal distress
• Failure to properly monitor fetal heart rate
• Delayed response to complications
• Failure to perform an appropriate emergency C-section
• Improper use of forceps or vacuum devices
• Failure to recognize maternal complications
• Medication errors during labor
• Failure to respond to signs of oxygen deprivation

Birth injuries can have lifelong consequences. A child who suffers a birth injury may require extensive medical care, therapy, assistive equipment, special education services, and other forms of support.

Anesthesia Errors

Anesthesia requires careful preparation, administration, and monitoring. Mistakes involving anesthesia can result in brain injuries, organ damage, nerve injuries, respiratory complications, or even death. Potential negligence may include administering an improper dose, failing to review a patient’s medical history, failing to recognize a patient’s reaction to anesthesia, or inadequate monitoring during or after a procedure.

Hospital Negligence

Hospitals are complex organizations that employ a range of healthcare professionals, including physicians, nurses, technicians, administrators, and others. Medical negligence may arise from the conduct of an individual provider or from broader problems involving the hospital itself. Hospital-related negligence may include:

• Inadequate patient monitoring
• Poor communication between healthcare providers
• Failure to respond to changes in a patient’s condition
• Medication administration errors
• Inadequate staffing
• Failure to follow appropriate procedures
• Inadequate infection prevention
• Failure to properly supervise employees
• Failure to maintain necessary equipment
• Delayed treatment

Determining who is legally responsible for medical negligence can sometimes be complicated. Physicians and other medical professionals working in hospitals may be employees, independent contractors, or have a different relationship with the facility. Our Chicago medical negligence lawyers examine the relationships between the healthcare providers involved and the institution where the treatment occurred to determine which parties may potentially be liable.

Emergency Room Medical Negligence

Emergency departments treat patients with serious and sometimes rapidly changing conditions. Providers must make important decisions under pressure while still meeting applicable standards of care. Emergency room negligence can involve:

• Failing to properly triage a patient
• Failing to recognize a heart attack or stroke
• Failing to diagnose internal bleeding
• Failing to recognize sepsis
• Discharging a patient prematurely
• Failing to monitor a patient’s changing condition
• Failing to consult an appropriate specialist

Because emergency room patients often arrive without a complete medical history, determining whether appropriate care was provided requires a careful review of medical records and the circumstances.careful review of medical records and the circumstances.

Failure to Monitor a Patient

Healthcare providers must monitor patients appropriately based on their medical conditions and treatments. Failure to monitor may occur when a hospital or provider fails to:

• Check vital signs at appropriate intervals
• Monitor medication effects
• Respond to abnormal test results
• Recognize changes in a patient’s condition
• Follow up after a procedure
• Reassess a patient after treatment
• Escalate care when a patient’s condition worsens

A patient’s condition can deteriorate quickly. Delays in recognizing and responding to those changes may result in preventable complications.s a careful review of medical records and the circumstances.

Hospital-Acquired Infections

An infection acquired in a healthcare setting can be particularly dangerous to individuals with weakened immune systems, hospitalized patients, and surgical patients. Healthcare facilities are expected to follow appropriate infection-control procedures. Depending on the circumstances, negligence may involve failures related to sanitation, sterilization, hand hygiene, wound care, equipment, isolation procedures, or other infection-prevention measures. An infection does not automatically prove medical negligence. Our attorneys examine the patient’s medical history, the circumstances of the infection, applicable procedures, and available evidence to determine whether negligence may have contributed to the injury.

Proving Medical Negligence

Medical records provide the foundation for many medical negligence investigations, but records alone might not answer every question. Our attorneys may examine:

• Physician notes
• Nursing records
• Medication records
• Laboratory results
• Imaging studies
• Operative reports
• Hospital policies
• Anesthesia records
• Communications between providers
• Discharge instructions
• Billing records
• Prior medical records
• Follow-up treatment records

We will also consult with qualified medical professionals who can evaluate whether the treatment met the applicable standard of care and whether the alleged medical negligence caused the patient’s injury.

Establishing Causation

Showing that a mistake occurred isn’t enough. A medical negligence claim requires evidence that connects the negligent conduct to the patient’s injury. For example, consider a situation where a physician fails to diagnose a condition promptly. The case may require medical evidence demonstrating that earlier diagnosis and treatment would more likely than not have produced a different outcome. Causation can be particularly challenging when a patient already has a serious illness or multiple medical conditions. Our attorneys work to distinguish the harm caused by the underlying condition from additional harm caused by medical negligence.

Proving Damages

Medical negligence can result in substantial financial and personal losses. Depending on the circumstances, compensation may include money for:

• Past medical expenses
• Future medical expenses
• Rehabilitation
• Physical therapy
• Prescription medications
• Medical equipment
• Lost wages
• Reduced earning capacity
• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Disability or disfigurement
• Reduced quality of life

Our Illinois medical negligence attorneys will work with experts and gather documentation to support a claim for full compensation.