Northeast Philadelphia Medical Negligence Attorneys

Over-worked Doctors More Prone to Medical Negligence and Mistakes

Visiting your physician shouldn’t be reason for concern about the risks of medical errors. However, medical negligence cases are shockingly common and cause traumatic injuries, permanent disability and can even lead to wrongful death. Patients in Pennsylvania and New Jersey need to consider the dangers of medical misconduct.  A recent study conducted at Stanford University School of Medicine showed that, “the epidemic of physician burnout may be the source of even more medical errors than unsafe medical workplace conditions.”  It is critical to remember that though uncommon medical malpractice happens every day.

The medical malpractice and personal injury lawyers of Cohen & Riechelson have been protecting the legal rights of patients since 1972. We have worked to gain a reputation for recovering full and fair compensation for injuries resulting from medical malpractice, nursing home abuse as well as defective medical products for our clients in Pennsylvania towns including Levittown, Northeast Philadelphia, Millbrook, Bensalem, Feasterville, and all of Bucks County. You can rely on our extensive experience to seek a successful verdict or settlement in your medical malpractice personal injury claim. Contact us online or call us in Pennsylvania at (215) 337-4915 or at our Trenton New Jersey offices at (609) 528-2596 today for a free and confidential consultation with a member of our experienced and skilled legal team.

Overworked Doctors and Medical Negligence Bucks County PA

Stanford Study Highlights Risks For PA Patients

In the study recently published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, a conclusion was reached that about 55% of all physicians who were surveyed as part of the research experienced symptoms of burnout. Moreover, approximately 10% of the physicians surveyed admitted to making “at least one major medical error within three months of the survey,” according to the researchers. The lead author of the study, Dr. Daniel Tawfik, emphasized the seriousness of these findings as they relate to doctor negligence: “Physicians with burnout had more than twice the odds of self-reported medical error, after adjusting for specialty, work hours, fatigue, and work unit safety rating.”

In many cases, physician burnout can produce higher rates of medical misconduct and mistakes, resulting in more instances of medical negligence. As an example, in medical work units where physicians self-reported a high level of burnout, medical error rates were as much as three times as high. Nearly 7,000 physicians were surveyed.

Bensalem Attorneys Understand Medical Errors and Identify Claims

The study emphasizes, medical misconduct is rampant with errors resulting in hundreds of thousands of patient deaths every year. WebMD states the following as some of the most common types of medical negligence/malpractice and gives information about ways to prevent these occurrences:

• Errors in medication: Patients may help to prevent medication errors by asking questions about the drugs they are being given, paying attention to labels, and keeping an updated list of their current medications on file
• Wrongful site surgery: This kind of medical error occurs when a surgeon operates on the wrong body part or the wrong patient, and patients can help to prevent these mistakes by ensuring that the surgery site is marked in advance
• Retained medical objects or instruments inside of a patient’s body: During surgery, a mistake can lead a surgeon or a surgical team to leave a sponge or an instrument inside a patient’s body, which may produce serious symptoms or discomfort
• Delays in diagnosis or treatment: If a physician fails to treat a patient for a specific condition in a timely manner, this is doctor negligence, and as a result, the condition can worsen. If your physician has not called with test results, you should be proactive, and always feel comfortable in seeking a second opinion
• Wrongful diagnosis: If a doctor makes an incorrect diagnosis, a patient can suffer serious injuries.

If you or someone you know has suffered because of errors on the part of your hospital or physician it is recommended that you contact a skilled and experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible.

Contact Our Feasterville Medical Malpractice Lawyers Today

At Cohen & Riechelson, our medical malpractice and personal injury attorneys believe the law is a powerful tool that should be used to help give fair compensation to  victims who have been injured due to negligence. We have dedicated the last 40+ years to ensuring that our clients recover not only their quality of life but what is rightfully theirs and helped to make their lives whole again. One of our highly knowledgeable attorneys is prepared to assist you with your accident claim. Contact us online, or by phone anytime at (215) 337-4915 anytime for a free, no-obligation consultation.