As a parent, there is nothing more you could wish for than to have your child receive proper medical care. Seeing your precious child die or suffer from a severe injury is heartbreaking, especially when it could have been prevented. Of course, not all injuries or deaths among children result from malpractice, but every small mistake a doctor might make when diagnosing such a young patient can have severe repercussions in the long run. In this article, you will be guided through pediatric negligence and what you need to know to ensure that your child receives the best quality medical care he or she deserves.
Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis
Most cases of pediatric negligence and malpractice are a result of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. A misdiagnosis occurs when the child’s symptoms are similar to those of a different disease. Meningitis is one of the most common illnesses stated in court for pediatric malpractice; this happens because meningitis symptoms are identical to those commonly encountered among many children’s diseases. Failure to correctly diagnose this medical affection can be irreversible, long-lasting, and life-threatening.
Another common medical disease associated with pediatric malpractice is appendicitis. This is especially true for young girls, where the symptoms could be associated with less severe medical conditions such as pelvic inflammation or urinary tract infection. At the same time, a delayed diagnosis can be just as grave as the wrong one. A delayed diagnosis of meningitis, appendicitis, or any other illnesses can cause a complicated or even impossible treatment and recovery process.
Medication Errors
Medication errors constitute the next frequent pediatric negligence and malpractice cause. Everything from prescribing the wrong medication to incorrectly advising about the medication dose, the timing, or the technique that needs to be used can lead to severe counter effects and life-threatening situations for your child.
What Can You Do?
While, as a parent without a medical background, there is nothing much you could do about a faulty diagnosis, a delayed diagnosis, or medical errors, you have the right to hold accountable those at fault. You are responsible for taking your child’s pediatric negligence or malpractice case to a specialized medical malpractice attorney. Medical malpractice attorneys can help you seek proper compensation for any damages, including any medical-associated costs, pain and suffering of the patient and their family, and any further treatments such as rehabilitation, additional surgeries, physical and psychiatric therapy, and even long-term medical care.
However, prevention is better than cure. To this end, you want to make sure to always stay in touch with your child’s pediatric doctor to try and avoid this from happening altogether. Make sure to update him or her about your child’s latest symptoms, or any changes, be it for the better or worse.
Finally, even though doctors are humans and can make mistakes, they should remember that their mistake weighs more and can have tragic repercussions on innocent children’s lives. If they do not remember this, it is your duty as parents to seek justice and prevent mistakes like that from repeating themselves.
