Over the years the terms “medical errors” and “medical negligence” have often been mistaken considered to be interchangeable which has blurred the lines for both patients and healthcare professionals. Medical care is complex, and even with the best care, complications can happen – it’s important to understand that not every mistake or bad outcome is down to negligence. The difference between these two terms is crucial and helps you to determine if you have the grounds for a medical negligence claim or not.
What are medical errors?
Errors or mistakes are an unfortunate reality, and this is no different in medical care. A medical error refers to an unintended mistake made by a healthcare professional during the course of your diagnosis or treatment. Mistakes can occur as a result of human error and are an inevitable part of life, despite doctors, nurses and healthcare providers acting with the best intentions. Many mistakes are made in medical care and no harm is caused by them, and they remain just unfortunate but relatively inconsequential errors.
What is medical negligence?
Medical negligence is defined as a failure by healthcare professionals to provide the accepted standard of care that is expected of them, and this failing then directly results in harm or injury to the patient. In order to prove medical negligence, four main things must be established in your case:
- Duty of Care: The existence of a duty of care for the patient.
- Breach of Duty: The treatment you received from your healthcare professional fell below the expected standard or quality.
- Causation: The failing in care directly caused your injury or worsened your condition.
- Damages: You suffered measurable harm, injury and/or losses because of the negligent treatment or advice.
Examples That Highlight the Difference between Medical Errors and Medical Negligence
Sometimes, errors are caught quickly and corrected without causing any harm. Other times, they may result in serious complications, however, it’s important to understand that not every mistake amounts to negligence.
Misdiagnosis:
- Medical error: A doctor initially mis-diagnoses a patient with early signs of pneumonia as having the flu but quickly re-evaluates the symptoms and begins the correct treatment the next day. No harm or long-term issues were inflicted on the patient.
- Medical negligence: A doctor fails to send a patient with chest pain for a chest x-ray; the patient later dies of an undiagnosed heart attack. There was a breach of duty which caused avoidable harm, and negligence is made out.
Surgical Negligence:
- Medical error: Before orthopaedic surgery the wrong leg is marked up for a replacement hip. The error is spotted by an alert theatre nurse, the correct leg is then identified, and hip surgery proceeds uneventfully.
- Medical negligence: During abdominal surgery, the surgical team leaves a sponge or instrument inside the patient. It causes months of pain and infection before it’s discovered and removed by means of a second avoidable surgery
What Should You Do If You Suspect Negligence?
The difference comes down to whether the standard of care was breached and if that breach caused harm. For those affected by negligence, seeking legal advice is a crucial first step in starting your journey to recovery.
If you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to the negligence of a medical or health professional, then we may be able to help you pursue a claim for compensation. Our leading team of specialist medical negligence experts are on hand to offer advice, so please get in touch with us on 0800 014 7551 or complete our enquiry form and we will contact you directly.