Linthicum Heights Medical Malpractice Claim Attorneys

Lawyers for Misdiagnosis, Surgical Errors, and Other Forms of Medical Negligence in Linthicum Heights, MD

When a patient goes to a hospital, visits their doctor, or is brought to an emergency room, they are placing their health, their well-being, and sometimes their life in the hands of medical professionals. These providers have a responsibility to protect the health of patients and provide them with competent care. When they fail to do so, and patients suffer injuries or other forms of harm because of medical negligence, providers may be held accountable through medical malpractice claims.

The team at Silverman Thompson works with patients and families in Linthicum Heights to address harm that has occurred because of the negligence of healthcare providers. We take the time to understand each client's situation, explain their options honestly, and provide compassionate legal representation as we fight to secure financial compensation for a patient's injuries and damages.

Birth Injuries

The birth of a child should be a moment of joy for a family, but that joy can be shattered when birth injuries occur. Obstetricians, nurses, and other members of medical teams that provide care during labor and delivery will need to make sure the proper procedures are followed. When medical providers are negligent in providing care during childbirth, the consequences can affect an entire family for years or decades to come.

Negligence Leading to Birth Injuries

During labor and delivery, providers will need to track the progress of labor, monitor fetal heart rate patterns, recognize complications as they develop, and act quickly to address potential concerns. Negligence during childbirth may involve a failure to recognize and respond to signs of fetal distress, including an abnormal heart rate. If a baby is not receiving enough oxygen because of fetal distress, providers will need to act quickly, which may mean ordering an emergency cesarean section. Delays in addressing fetal distress can result in oxygen deprivation to the baby's brain, which can cause irreversible neurological damage.

Other forms of negligence during labor and delivery may involve the improper use of delivery instruments such as forceps or vacuum extractors, which can cause skull fractures or injuries to the nerves of a child's shoulder and arm. Failure to manage complications such as shoulder dystocia can lead to serious injuries to an infant's brachial plexus nerves. Failure to address issues such as umbilical cord complications, placental abruption, or excessive bleeding can also cause harm to the baby and place the mother's life at risk.

Injuries to the Mother

Negligent care during childbirth can harm mothers as well as their babies. Failure to recognize and manage postpartum hemorrhaging of blood can be life-threatening. Failure to properly treat perineal tears or surgical complications from cesarean sections can cause long-term pain, infections, and impairments to bladder or bowel function. Failure to monitor for and treat preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication involving high blood pressure, can put a mother's life at risk.

Emergency Room and Hospital Malpractice

Patients may receive critical care in hospitals or emergency rooms. In these environments, providers will need to assess patients accurately, respond promptly to issues or complications, and make the right decisions while under pressure. Negligence by medical providers in these situations can cause patients to suffer serious harm.

Emergency Room Errors

In emergency rooms, providers will often need to quickly evaluate patients and address symptoms that may indicate anything from a minor illness to a life-threatening emergency. Errors in emergency rooms can lead to serious consequences, because conditions like heart attacks, strokes, pulmonary embolisms, and severe infections need to be diagnosed and treated quickly.

Failure to handle incoming patients correctly can cause someone with a serious condition to wait when they need immediate intervention. Misdiagnoses can occur in emergency rooms when doctors attribute chest pain to muscle strain, dismiss stroke symptoms as migraines, or diagnose a condition as a panic attack rather than a more serious health issue. Premature discharge of a patient, failure to order diagnostic testing, or other forms of negligence can also lead to serious injuries.

Hospital Negligence

Patients may be injured in hospitals when doctors or nurses make mistakes, but they may also be placed at risk due to systemic issues. Inadequate staffing at a hospital may prevent nurses from monitoring patients correctly and providing the proper care. Breakdowns in communication between nurses and doctors, failure to maintain sanitary conditions and prevent infections, or other forms of negligence may also lead to injuries for patients.

Concerns Related to Informed Consent

Informed consent is not a formality. It is a legal and ethical requirement during medical care. Patients have the right to make decisions about the treatment they receive, and they can only do so if they have been given the information they need.

A healthcare provider is required to inform a patient about the potential risks and benefits of the treatment that they are proposing. They must also make sure that a patient understands the other options that may be available. A provider who performs a procedure without obtaining consent at all or who obtains consent without making sure a patient fully understands the treatment that will be provided has violated the patient's right to make informed decisions about their care.

Medical malpractice cases may address informed consent in situations where a provider did not disclose the risks of a procedure, causing a patient to suffer harm that they could have avoided if they had been given the proper information. For example, a surgeon who fails to disclose that a procedure involves a risk of nerve damage may face liability if nerve damage occurs.

Other Medical Malpractice Issues

Medical negligence can take many forms. Our attorneys represent people who have suffered harm due to issues such as:

• Surgical Errors: In many cases, surgical complications occur because of negligence by surgeons or others involved in procedures. Wrong-site surgeries, wrong-patient surgeries, damage to nerves or blood vessels, improper management of bleeding, errors in the administration of anesthesia, and surgical instruments left inside patients are all forms of surgical malpractice.
• Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis: If a patient's condition is misdiagnosed, or if a correct diagnosis is made later than it should have been, the patient may suffer serious. A condition may progress without treatment, or a patient may receive treatment for a condition they do not actually have. Cancer, autoimmune conditions, cardiac disease, and serious infections are conditions that may be misdiagnosed.
• Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect: Older adults and people with disabilities may reside in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and they deserve to receive the proper care, treatment, and assistance with daily needs. When facilities are understaffed, when employees have not been trained correctly, or when patients are not properly supervised, serious injuries can occur. Bedsores may develop due to neglect, or issues such as malnutrition or dehydration may occur. Falls may occur because of poor supervision. In some cases, patients may be targeted for intentional physical or sexual abuse.
• Medication Errors: When doctors, nurses, pharmacists, or other medical providers make mistakes when prescribing, dispensing, or administering medications, patients can suffer serious harm. These issues may lead to overdoses, allergic reactions, harmful side effects, or dangerous drug interactions.

Contact Our Linthicum Heights, Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyers

The lawyers at Silverman Thompson can help patients who have been injured while receiving medical treatment understand their legal options. We will work to hold medical providers accountable and obtain financial compensation for the damages a person has suffered. Contact our Linthicum Heights medical negligence attorneys at 410-385-2225 to set up a free consultation.