Medical Malpractice Introduction

Malpractice is a specific legal term related to lawsuits alleging various different circumstances leading to damage to a patient. Malpractice suits may allege various mistakes made by doctors or other medical professionals, including misdiagnosis, mistreatment, delayed diagnosis, failure to diagnose, surgical errors, medical errors, or various types of negligence. Not all errors in medical diagnosis and treatment are necessarily malpractice, because there are certain risks and margins for error that arise inherently in the practice of medicine.

Diseases Associated With Medical Malpractice

The top five diseases that receive monetary awards for malpractice, in terms of dollar value, are breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer (including colon cancer and rectal cancer), heart attack, and appendicitis. Surprisingly, the main allegation is a form of misdiagnosis, either delayed diagnosis or mismanagement of diagnostic testing. Typically, this delay or oversight leads to severe complications and often death. The severity of misdiagnosis of these conditions and the poor outcomes that may result tend to explain why large monetary awards can occur. For more information, see the following articles:

• Malpractice and heart attack
• Malpractice and cancer
• Malpractice and breast cancer
• Malpractice and lung cancer
• Malpractice and mesothelioma
• Malpractice and colorectal cancer
• Malpractice and rectal cancer
• Malpractice and bowel cancer
• Malpractice and diabetes
• Malpractice and appendicitis
• Malpractice and hypertension
• Malpractice and metabolic syndrome

Disclaimer

Always consult with your attorney or other legal professional for any legal advice. The information provided on this web site is for general informational purposes, and does not constitute legal advice.

Reference Articles

• Symptoms and Medical Malpractice
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• More Medical Malpractice Information
• List of Medical Malpractice Articles
• Medical Malpractice Dictionary - full glossary list of all medical malpractice terms.
• Personal Injury Articles - full list of all personal injury articles.

Full List of Medical Malpractice Articles

The following articles discuss various aspects of medical malpractice, statistics about malpractice, and about certain legal issues in malpractice litigation.

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