Earlier this month, we learned that a hospital in Pennsylvania began notifying patients that they had made mistakes with up to 211 patients dating back to last year.
The news comes from across the state, in New Castle, but we think it is important to bring you the story because of the prevalence of medical mistakes in Pennsylvania and across the country.
According to a spokesperson, “An internal quality assurance review at UPMC Jameson found that the proper cleaning process was not followed for some ultrasound probes used in internal prostate, obstetrical and gynecological exams.”
The hospital goes on to say that the health risks are low, but they are offering free blood and urine tests to see if anyone contracted a disease.
At The Weitz Firm, LLC, we know that this is just another issue that patients across the country run into when they put their trust in medical professionals. If you need a medical malpractice injury lawyer Philadelphia, you can count on our team to get the compensation you deserve.
When We Are Hurt
Why do we seek help from medical professionals? Because, we want something about ourselves fixed or we want to stay healthy. Whether we have an emergency or are going for a routine visit, we put our families lives in the hands of doctors, surgeons, nurses, and other medical professionals. How many of these do you visit on an annual basis?
- Primary care physician
- Hospitals
- Dentists
- Optometrist
- Nursing homes
- Minute clinics
- EMS professionals
Have you ever thought about what can go wrong when you visit one of those places?
Life Changing
Medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in the United States, killing an estimated 250,000 people a year. Some numbers put that count closer to 440,000.
- Diagnostic Mistakes – if mistakes are made errors when diagnosing patients then treatment can be delayed for both emergency conditions as well as chronic conditions. Delayed treatment can cause further medical problems and even death.
- Medication errors – these are very common in a hospital setting. If a patient is given the wrong medication, the wrong dosage, or not given their medication at all, they can suffer extreme complications.
- Hospital-acquired infections – these are very common in the US. In fact, around one in 30 hospital patients in the hospital acquires an infection each day. According to the CDC, one in three patients who die in the hospital has sepsis, a dangerous form of infection that spreads to the whole body.
- Surgical mistakes – these go beyond the “never events” such as operating on the wrong body part or even the wrong patient. There are many other surgical errors that are far more common.
What Are Your Options?
If you or a loved one have been harmed due to a medical professional’s mistake, we advise you to seek legal assistance as soon as possible. We know that you did not expect to be harmed by someone you trusted, but we want to help.
At The Weitz Firm, LLC, our experienced team will get to work on securing compensation for your incident-related expenses, lost income if you missed work due to the mistake, as well as pain and suffering and punitive damages. When you need a Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney, you can contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling 267-587-6240.
