What Are Common Examples of Medical Malpractice in Chicago?

Posted on January 31, 2025

Medical malpractice can occur in many forms and at any stage of treatment, but what are common examples of medical malpractice? Surgical errors, diagnostic errors, medication mistakes, and birth injuries are some common forms of medical malpractice in Chicago. Understanding the types of negligence that healthcare providers commonly commit and the medical malpractice cases that can arise from the harm suffered will leave you in a better position to pursue legal action when you or a loved one sustains a medical injury.

Doctor examining old mature woman What are common examples of medical malpractice? after incident.

The Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at DePaolo & Zadeikis can help you file a claim for compensation for your losses. Call us at 312-263-7560 for a free consultation regarding your case.

Surgical Errors: A Common Form of Medical Malpractice

One way to find out if you have a medical malpractice case is by learning common examples of medical malpractice. Surgical errors comprise a variety of mistakes made during surgeries. One study found that more than 4,000 preventable errors occur during surgery in the United States each year and cost the healthcare industry over $1.3 billion in medical malpractice payouts. Surgical errors that lead to medical malpractice claims include:

Wrong Site Surgery

This type of surgical error involves the doctor performing the right surgical procedure on the wrong body part, such as the wrong limb. It could cause long-term problems, such as nerve damage and unnecessary removal of a healthy body part or organ.

Incorrect Surgical Procedure

This involves the healthcare provider performing the wrong procedure on a patient rather than what was required. It could be due to the surgical team treating the wrong patient, miscommunication, or poor preparation. The patient could sustain severe or fatal injuries.

Anesthesia Errors

These arise from issues with the administration of anesthesia. They can result in excruciating pain, psychological trauma, stroke, cardiac arrest, brain damage, disability, or even death.

Accidental Perforation of Organs

Surgeons can accidentally puncture a neighboring healthy organ during surgery. This can cause severe internal bleeding.

Leaving a Foreign Object in the Body

Surgeons and operating room staff use several tools and instruments, such as scalpels, sponges, forceps, and scissors. Sometimes, surgical teams leave behind these foreign objects in patients’ bodies. These objects can cause severe pain and infections. Patients typically require additional surgery to remove the objects.

Never Events

Many surgical errors are referred to as never events, since they are mistakes that should never happen. They’re often caused by the negligent or reckless behavior of surgeons and their teams, such as miscommunication, inadequate training, fatigue, and lack of adequate preparation. Surgical errors could lead to infections, internal bleeding, organ damage, nerve damage, permanent disability, and death.

Diagnostic Errors

Diagnostic errors are among the most common medical malpractice cases. An analysis found that a third of medical malpractice cases in a 10-year period that were associated with permanent injuries or death involved diagnostic errors. Diagnostic errors include failure to diagnose, delayed diagnosis, and misdiagnosis cases. Some examples of medical negligence that lead to diagnostic errors include:

  • Failure to order appropriate tests based on a patient’s symptoms or complaints
  • Loss of lab test results or failure or delay in acting on abnormal test results
  • Misreading or incorrect interpretation of test results
  • Misrepresenting clinical signs and symptoms
  • Failure to seek additional patient information, such as medical history
  • Delayed referral to a specialist

According to studies, 10% to 28% of cancers are misdiagnosed. Stroke is also a condition that doctors commonly miss or delay diagnosing, with studies estimating that as many as 165,000 strokes are misdiagnosed. Other conditions that are commonly at the center of missed or delayed diagnoses include heart attacks, sepsis, pulmonary embolism, and brain hemorrhage.

How Does Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis Harm Patients?

When a diagnosis is delayed or missed, a patient fails to get the necessary treatment when he or she needs it. Many medical conditions can worsen quickly if not treated immediately. You could experience significant pain or impairment, develop other medical problems, and receive unnecessary treatments due to a late or incorrect diagnosis. Prolonged hospital stays and the need for costlier and more invasive treatments are other possible consequences.

For some conditions, delays in making a correct diagnosis can result in irreversible harm. A delayed diagnosis may allow cancer cells to spread to other parts of the body and lower the chances of surviving the disease. Untreated internal injuries can lead to organ failure, coma, and death. Delayed diagnosis of cardiac problems can lead to untreatable complications and even death. Around 795,000 Americans suffer permanent disabilities or lose their lives each year because of incorrect medical diagnoses of dangerous diseases.

Medical malpractice lawyers can investigate your case or that of a loved one to determine if the harm suffered was due to a diagnostic error.

Medication Mistakes That Lead to Malpractice Claims

Medication mistakes occur frequently in doctor’s offices, pharmacies, hospitals, and nursing homes, resulting in preventable injuries. The FDA reported receiving more than 100,000 reports of suspected medication errors each year. A report from the Institute of Medicine suggested that medication errors injure at least 1.5 million people every year in the United States.

Medication mistakes that lead to medical malpractice claims can occur in several ways. A healthcare professional may prescribe the wrong drug or dosage to a patient or give the right dosage at the wrong time. You may be given medication that interacts negatively with other drugs you’re taking. New medication could be given to a patient whose condition the drug wasn’t meant to treat. Other errors that could give rise to malpractice claims include mislabeling, miscommunication, failing to monitor a patient’s condition, and failing to warn a patient of possible allergies or side effects.

Several factors contribute to medication errors, including mixed-up medical charts and records, understaffing, inattentiveness, rushed prescriptions, mix-ups between medications with similar sounding names, illegible handwriting, inexperience, and labeling errors. Mistakes made in the prescription, dosage, and administration of medications can cause serious harm, ranging from allergic reactions to even loss of lives.

Several medical professionals can be held liable for medication mistakes that harm patients. Doctors can make mistakes when prescribing medications. Pharmacists could make an error when filling prescriptions. Registered nurses could also be held liable for making mistakes while distributing or administering medication.

Birth Injuries

These are injuries that occur before, during, or shortly after childbirth. When birth injuries occur because of negligence, the family may be able to make a medical malpractice claim. Birth injuries are one of the most common medical malpractice cases. According to Physicians Thrive, OB/GYN specialists receive the most medical malpractice cases after surgeons.

Negligent acts that lead to birth injuries include:

  • Misuse of birthing tools like vacuum extractors and forceps
  • Failure to perform timely C-sections
  • Failure to identify and respond to signs of fetal distress
  • Mishandling of the baby during delivery or after birth
  • Inadequate monitoring of the baby or mother

Childbirth injuries can harm both infants and mothers. Childbirth errors can lead to injuries like brain damage, cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries, and even death. Birth-related problems can cause physical, social, and cognitive challenges in children in the long term. They can also put a heavy strain on a family’s budget if the child will require ongoing care throughout his or her life.

What to Do If You Have a Medical Malpractice Case in Chicago

If you suspect you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice in Chicago, take the steps below:

Document Everything

Gather all documents related to your case, such as test results, prescriptions, invoices, bills, and physical evidence of your injuries. Keep detailed notes of your symptoms, treatments, the impact of your medical injury on your life, and communication with your healthcare provider.

Consult a Lawyer

You should ensure your case has merit before filing a medical malpractice claim. That makes it crucial to know how to find a good medical malpractice lawyer. Searching “medical malpractice lawyer near me” on the internet or asking family, friends, or a local bar association can help. A lawyer will assess your case and determine its viability. Your lawyer will consult with medical experts to help you build a strong case, collect and preserve important evidence, guide you throughout the claims process, and advocate for your rights during settlement negotiations or at trial.

Seek Medical Attention

Seek timely treatment for the injury or illness you’ve suffered due to malpractice. You may need to see a different medical expert or healthcare provider.

Act Fast

Don’t forget to consider how long you have to sue for medical malpractice. You generally have two years from when you discovered or should’ve discovered your injury to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in Illinois. Act quickly to protect your right to seek compensation. Your Chicago medical malpractice attorney will help you file a claim within the Illinois deadlines. Contact us at DePaolo & Zadeikis today for a free consultation, and we’ll start working on your case right away.

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Mark A. DePaolo

Mark A. DePaolo is the founding partner of DePaolo & Zadeikis Attorneys at Law, a personal injury and workers’ compensation law firm based out of Chicago, Illinois. Mark is a past President of the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association, has been recognized as one of the best workers’ compensation lawyers in the field, and was selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer seven years in a row. His client focused approach and wealth of experience set Mr. DePaolo apart from many other attorneys who handle workers’ compensation law.

Years of Experience: More than 30 years
Illinois Registration Status: Active

Bar & Court Admissions: Illinois State Bar Association U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois

author-bio-image author-bio-image
Mark A. DePaolo

Mark A. DePaolo is the founding partner of DePaolo & Zadeikis Attorneys at Law, a personal injury and workers’ compensation law firm based out of Chicago, Illinois. Mark is a past President of the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association, has been recognized as one of the best workers’ compensation lawyers in the field, and was selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer seven years in a row. His client focused approach and wealth of experience set Mr. DePaolo apart from many other attorneys who handle workers’ compensation law.

Years of Experience: More than 30 years
Illinois Registration Status: Active

Bar & Court Admissions: Illinois State Bar Association U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois