Medical malpractice is one of the most common problems of health care system in US. Many people die because of this problem. There are almost 200,000 patients who die because of medical malpractice. In these 200,000 people, the most vulnerable victims are the children. There are many cases where medical malpractices cause so much suffering to pediatric patients. Since children are still young, their bodies tend to give up easily. With this consideration, pediatric medical malpractice has the highest compensation from all other type of malpractice.
Commonly pediatric medical malpractice is caused by misdiagnosis of a doctor. This can be attributed to the fact that children have limited faculty to express what they really feel about their general well-being. It is important for a doctor to examine a child thoroughly because there are many diseases which are too hard detect and have common generic symptoms like the ordinary disease. It is always better to let a child undergo several medical examinations to articulately determine what he/she feels.
Some of the most commonly misdiagnosed diseases are Meningitis and Pneumonia. Meningitis happens when there is an inflammation in the membranes which protect your brain and spinal cord. This is commonly caused by microorganisms like bacteria and viruses. If this will not be diagnosed, it can be fatal. The tricky part is the fact that the symptoms of this inflammation can be confused to other simple and non-alarming diseases. The symptoms include headaches, vomiting, fever, confusion, rash, stiff neck, irritability, drowsiness, irritable to light and loud noises, and seizures.
Pneumonia is another inflammatory disease but this can be found in our lungs. It targets lung’s air sacs or also called as alveoli. Sometimes doctors confuse it as bronchitis, tuberculosis, or COPD. If these two mentioned disease can be addressed at the early stage of development, there is a fair chance for a child to survive.
There are also chances wherein a negligent operation is the main cause of child’s death. There are many times that a child dies because of the infection and inflammation in his body. Before you let your child undergo any surgery, make it sure to ask for a second opinion to confirm the necessity of a surgery. There are many cases when a surgery is not actually needed to address a medical problem.
If you think that a doctor or a hospital has caused your child any danger either because of unnecessary surgery or misdiagnosis, it is important to seek for legal help to address such irresponsibility of the hospital. Look for a counsel with enough experience and track record when it comes to pediatric medical malpractice. You should validate your counsel’s reputation so you can have a higher fighting chance in the court.