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Pennsylvania case law has regarded medical malpractice as the unwarranted departure from generally accepted medical practice standards that result in a patient’s injury. Therefore, medical malpractice is predominantly the result of human error by healthcare providers. Regardless of the nature of the malpractice, medical professionals’ failures to meet the standards expected of their profession can lead to serious life-changing injuries or even patient fatalities.

For people injured due to medical negligence, our lawyers at Lowenthal & Abrams specialize in bringing medical malpractice suits against healthcare providers who, by action or inaction, have caused harm to their patients. You deserved a remedy when you sought medical treatment, but if instead you suffered an injury or a loss, we can guide you toward legal recovery in the wake of your providers’ negligence.

Procedural Ways to Avoid Malpractice

Malpractice can be averted by ensuring appropriate procedures are in place to protect patients. This requires individual medical professionals to stay abreast of evolving best practices, as generally accepted standards of medical practice are rapidly changing with new technology. It also requires people managing hospital systems to implement and enforce protocols.

Planning a Discharge

One important procedure to monitor is discharge planning. Healthcare providers have the benefit of physically seeing patients and listening to their complaints. So, they become the real data source on which a healthcare system relies when making discharge decisions. If they do not carefully consider how patients describe their symptoms and meticulously record them, patients may be pushed out the door before appropriate diagnoses are established. This can delay treatment, contributing to the worsening of a patient’s health.

Ensuring Proper Follow-Up Care

It is no secret that hospitals are filling to capacity, and there is an incentive to move patients out to make room for new ones waiting in emergency departments. However, discharging a patient without securing outpatient care and clear follow-up directions is a recipe for the ER to become a revolving door.

Avoid Staying Longer Than Necessary

Alternatively, a doctor may keep a patient hospitalized longer than necessary, which can strap them with extensive medical bills or even traumatize them. When patients feel like clinicians do not care about them or are not being taken seriously, they lose trust in the medical system. In the future, these patients may refuse medical care even when it is crucial for survival.

Establish Procedures That Protect Patients

Managers of a healthcare system are responsible for setting procedures that protect patients. These include explicit and informed protocols for preventing surgical mistakes (e.g., patient retention of surgical objects left or broken off in the body; operation on the wrong site of the body), as well as written guides for patients that help improve health literacy.

Personal Ways to Avoid Malpractice

Communication breakdowns between providers and patients can lead to a patient’s confusion about their health and further isolate them from medical care without having their problems treated. When patients cannot discuss their complaints in a safe, non-judgmental, and private environment, a medical professional may be more likely to misdiagnose them. This is because the environment deters them from giving more information about what they are experiencing. Fostering settings where the patient feels heard and understood gives healthcare providers greater access to information about the patient’s wellness and encourages them to provide regular updates on the efficacy of their treatments.

Medical Malpractice is a Failure by a Healthcare Provider, Not You

Our experienced attorneys from Lowenthal & Abrams are here to support you after sustaining injuries from medical malpractice. A healthcare professional’s failure to comply with generally accepted standards of medical practice is not your burden to bear. We are here to take on that hurt and hold your providers accountable.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation to discuss your potential claim.