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Get a Leg Up on Medical Mistakes

| Jun 24, 2013 | News Articles

Medical Mistakes Attorneys of Chicago

Medical mistakes can happen to anyone. In July of 2012, Frederick S. Southwick, a professor of medicine at the University of Florida, received a leg amputation because of a preventable medical error that had happened 17 years earlier. As an advocate for medical malpractice prevention – as well as the widower of a woman who died because of medical mistakes – you’d expect Southwick to be the last person to suffer from a malpractice accident himself.

Unfortunately, these traumatic events are increasingly common. For decades, our Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys have fought for the rights of people who have been victimized by medical mistakes. How can you prevent a mistake that could lead to injury or even death? These tips can help.

Tips for Avoiding Medical Mistakes

  • Have a sidekick. If your medical condition is highly complicated – or if you’re older or have been dealing with your condition for a long time – ask your spouse, a friend or a relative to accompany you to your appointments. Give your partner a notebook full of personal information, like your drug allergies and the phone numbers for your other doctors. Your sidekick can take notes and ask questions. It’s a good way to make sure that you fully understand the important details.
  • Carry your medications. If you’re checking into the hospital, bring all of your current prescription bottles with you. Tell every attending doctor and nurse exactly what you’re taking and what you’re allergic to. This will greatly decrease your chances of receiving a dangerous dosage of a new medication.
  • Write medical memos. Before surgery, most doctors will put their signatures on the body part to be operated upon. This simple action helps reduce the chance of confusion in the operating room. But because medical malpractice suits are getting more and more media attention, many patients have begun doing something similar – using permanent marker to write things like “wrong” on body parts that aren’t meant to be treated. It may seem a little extreme, but certainly no more so than a wrongful amputation.

Unfortunately, no matter how thorough and prepared you may be, medical mistakes still happen, and once the damage is done, you won’t be able to turn back the clock to clarify misunderstandings or guide the hands of your surgeon. You can, however, fight for the justice and compensation that will allow you to move on with your life.

If you or someone you love has experienced suffering due to a procedural or a surgical error, or if a misprescribed medication has resulted in harm, contact our Chicago workmen’s compensation attorneys at Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca today. Our Chicago attorneys will fight for the justice and for the closure that you deserve.

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