Most medical care goes the way it should. When it doesn’t, patients and families are often left wondering whether a poor outcome was an unavoidable risk of treatment or the result of a mistake that never should have happened. That distinction is where medical malpractice begins. A bad result alone doesn’t create a claim, and neither does every error. Malpractice occurs when a health care provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care, and that failure causes harm to the patient.
Separating the two usually takes a close review of medical records and input from other medical professionals. That’s why our Connecticut medical malpractice lawyers will start by examining exactly what happened before deciding whether a case exists. Certain types of errors occur repeatedly in malpractice claims. Understanding the most common types can help you recognize when the care you or a loved one received may have fallen short.
What Turns a Medical Mistake Into Malpractice?
Every medical malpractice claim rests on the same foundation. First, the provider owed the patient a duty of care, which exists once a doctor-patient relationship begins. Second, the provider breached that duty by doing something, or failing to do something, that a reasonably careful provider in the same field would have handled differently. Third, that breach must have caused an injury that led to actual losses, such as medical bills, lost income, or lasting physical harm.
Many states also add their own safeguards before a case can be filed, and the details vary from state to state. In Connecticut, for example, state law requires a written, signed opinion from a similar health care provider stating that there appears to be evidence of medical negligence, along with a detailed explanation of why. A claim filed without that opinion can be dismissed. Other states have their own requirements, which is one reason the process can look different depending on where the care took place.
Diagnostic Errors
Diagnosis is where most treatment decisions begin, so an error at this stage can shape everything that follows. It’s also where the most serious harm occurs. Research on malpractice claims has found that diagnostic errors account for more total serious harms than any other type of medical error, and a Johns Hopkins study estimated that roughly 795,000 Americans die or are permanently disabled by diagnostic error each year. These errors take several forms, and a single case can involve more than one.
Misdiagnosis
A misdiagnosis occurs when a provider identifies the wrong condition, often because a patient’s symptoms don’t match the textbook presentation. A heart attack mistaken for indigestion or a stroke mistaken for an inner ear problem can send a patient home without the treatment they need. Most serious misdiagnosis-related harms trace back to three categories of illness: vascular events such as strokes and blood clots, infections, and cancers.
Researchers estimate these conditions account for about 75% of serious harms from diagnostic error, and that roughly one in 10 patients with one of these dangerous diseases is misdiagnosed. The risk runs higher when symptoms are mild or come and go, and when the condition is less common.
Many of these errors don’t take sophisticated medicine to prevent. Diagnostic safety researchers say misdiagnosed patients often describe the same experience: the doctor didn’t listen to them.
Delayed Diagnosis
A delayed diagnosis happens when a provider eventually identifies the right condition, but only after an unreasonable amount of time has passed. What counts as unreasonable depends on the illness.
Delayed cancer diagnosis is one of the most serious examples, although not the only one. When a provider overlooks a suspicious mass, fails to order a biopsy, or doesn’t act on screening results, the cancer can advance to a stage where treatment options narrow and survival odds drop.
Failure to Follow Up or Treat
Some diagnostic errors happen after the right tests have been ordered. A lab result showing a dangerous abnormality sits unread in a patient’s chart. A radiologist flags a concern that never reaches the treating physician. A hospital discharges a patient before their condition has stabilized, or a doctor fails to refer them to a specialist who could have identified the problem.
The National Academy of Medicine’s definition of diagnostic error includes failing to communicate an accurate explanation to the patient, not only failing to reach one. A 2024 study at 29 academic medical centers found that 23% of hospitalized adults who died or were transferred to intensive care had experienced a diagnostic error, and those errors contributed to harm or death in nearly 18% of the patients reviewed. Problems with patient assessment and with ordering and interpreting tests were among the leading causes.
Birth Injuries and Errors in Maternal Care
Pregnancy and delivery involve two patients at once, and conditions can change within minutes. That’s part of why obstetrics carries some of the highest malpractice risk in medicine. In one national survey, more than 63% of OB/GYNs had faced a malpractice claim at some point in their careers.
Many complications that arise during pregnancy aren’t malpractice on their own. Preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and placental problems are known risks. The negligence lies in how providers respond. Common birth injuries and errors during labor and delivery include:
- Failing to recognize signs of fetal distress on heart rate monitoring
- Delaying a cesarean section when a baby’s condition calls for one
- Using excessive force with forceps or a vacuum extractor
- Mishandling shoulder dystocia, when a baby’s shoulder becomes stuck during delivery
- Missing or mismanaging maternal conditions like preeclampsia or infection
When these and other errors occur, the consequences can last a lifetime.
Medication Errors
Every medication a patient receives passes through several hands first. A physician prescribes it, a pharmacist fills it, and in a hospital, a nurse administers it. An error at any point along that chain can cause serious harm, and because each step relies on the one before it, a single mistake can travel all the way to the patient without anyone catching it.
For example, a provider can open the wrong patient’s chart, select the wrong drug from a dropdown menu, or enter a dose in milligrams when the order called for micrograms, a thousandfold difference. Drugs with similar names can be confused at the pharmacy counter or the bedside. Other errors come from what a provider fails to check, like a documented allergy or a dangerous interaction with medications the patient already takes.
Not every bad reaction to a medication is malpractice. Drugs carry known risks, and a patient can suffer a side effect even when everything was done correctly. A claim arises when the harm traces back to a mistake a careful provider would have caught.
Surgical and Anesthesia Errors
Surgery carries risk even when everything goes right, and patients are told as much before they sign a consent form. What they don’t agree to is harm caused by a preventable mistake. General surgeons are among the physicians most likely to face a malpractice claim, and in the same national survey, half of general surgeons had been sued two or more times.
Some surgical errors are so clearly preventable that the health care industry calls them “never events.” Operating on the wrong body part, performing the wrong procedure, or leaving a sponge or instrument inside a patient shouldn’t happen under any circumstances. Hospitals use checklists, site markings, and instrument counts specifically to stop them. When those safeguards break down, the error is hard to explain away.
Other surgical errors are less obvious. A surgeon can nick an organ or blood vessel, damage a nerve, or fail to control bleeding during the operation. Anesthesia adds its own risks. An anesthesiologist who gives too much or too little medication, fails to review a patient’s medical history, or doesn’t properly monitor breathing and oxygen levels can cause brain injury or other permanent harm within minutes.
The risks continue after the patient leaves the operating room. Post-operative infections, internal bleeding, and blood clots are known complications, but providers still have a duty to watch for their warning signs. A fever that goes unaddressed or a drop in blood pressure that no one investigates can turn a manageable complication into a life-threatening one.
Emergency Room and Hospital Care Errors
Emergency rooms ask providers to make fast decisions with incomplete information, often while treating many patients at once. Those conditions help explain why more than half of emergency medicine physicians surveyed had been sued at some point in their careers. Pressure doesn’t lower the standard of care, though. A patient sent home with chest pain or a severe headache that never received a proper workup may have a claim if a serious condition was missed.
Once a patient is admitted, the risks shift. Nurses and hospital staff must monitor vital signs, prevent falls and bedsores, and follow infection-control practices. When staff members are stretched thin, or those responsibilities slip, a patient can develop a hospital-acquired infection or suffer a decline that no one notices in time. A separate type of claim arises when a provider performs a procedure without first explaining its significant risks, so the patient never had the chance to make an informed decision.
Protecting Your Claim If You Suspect Malpractice
If you believe a medical error caused your injury, a few early steps can make it easier to find out what happened:
- Request your medical records. You have the right to obtain copies of your records, and they’re the foundation of any malpractice review.
- Write down what you remember. Note when symptoms began, which providers you saw, what they told you, and any concerns you raised.
- Keep related documents. Hold onto bills, discharge instructions, prescription bottles, and any written communication from your providers.
- Continue getting care. Your health comes first, and seeing a different provider can also help document the full extent of your injury.
Try to avoid discussing fault with the provider or the hospital’s risk management team until you’ve had legal guidance, even if they reach out first. Timing also plays a role. State laws set the statute of limitations for malpractice claims, and some states add pre-filing requirements, like an expert review of your care, that have to be completed before a case can move forward. Reviewing medical records and consulting with specialists takes time, so contacting an attorney early helps ensure there is enough time to thoroughly evaluate your case.
When Medical Care Falls Short, Don’t Fight Solo
Finding out that a medical error may have caused your injury, or taken a loved one from you, is devastating and can shape your health, your finances, and your family’s future for years. Trantolo & Trantolo represents patients and families throughout Connecticut, Long Island and Massachusetts, and we’ll closely review the care you received and fight for the compensation you deserve.
We handle medical malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis, so that you won’t pay any upfront fees. Contact a Connecticut medical malpractice lawyer from our team today for a free consultation.
