When health problems arise, many people will schedule an appointment with a medical professional to gain a better understanding of what is wrong. They want to learn more about their conditions and receive a diagnosis that will help them return to health. This can be a very stressful time for the patients, and they have to place complete confidence in those administering the care that they need.
In some situations, these medical professionals actually take steps that make the health problems much worse, leading to medical malpractice claims. A recent report by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) examined care that was provided to individuals who were in nursing homes receiving skilled nursing care. This means that they had recently been hospitalized, and released into the nursing home to receive treatment from these experienced health care professionals.
The study focused on 653 Medicare patients that were selected at random in 600 of these types of facilities. Of the patients examined, over 20 percent suffered some type of adverse medical event that was caused by the treatment they received. These events included the staff failing to monitor the patient, as well as the wrong type of treatment being used for a particular injury or illness.
Some individuals even died due to the errors in care. These patients suffered from blood clots, loss of blood due to blood-thinning medications as well as kidney failure. Based on these results, it is estimated that nearly 1,600 patients died nationwide in the month that this study was conducted.
The report stressed that changes could be made to eliminate some of these things from happening. This would require these facilities to create new policies and procedures that ensure each patient is receiving the proper care. Additionally, some of these nursing homes could be required to undergo more inspections to be sure that they are complying with initiatives already in place.
If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence of a health care professional, you should contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. These cases will require a careful analysis of the evidence to learn more about how the actions of the other parties led to your injuries.
Your attorney must be able to explain your condition to the jury in order to effectively state your claims. This is often very complex and detailed testimony, and will require the use of experts. You need to work with someone who knows how complicated these claims can be, and understands how to present your case.
