Shocking videos posted on YouTube show a dancing, singing dermatologist performing for the camera as she operates on sedated patients. With a scalpel in hand, the doctor can be seen cutting erratically with the beat of the music, looking up at the camera to voice lyrics, and utterly disregarding her duty of care to the unconscious person on the operating table. Almost as bizarre as the acts themselves, the doctor posted these videos herself on YouTube, as reported by CNN. Due to her medical negligence, almost 100 women have come forward with allegations of injury caused by the hands of this doctor. Medical incompetence and mistakes cause anywhere from tens of thousands to a quarter million deaths every year, according to various studies, but complete lack of care witnessed in the videos posted by this dermatologist is rare to have captured on camera.
Medical Errors Kill Many Americans Every Year
A recent headline-grabbing study found that medical errors made in hospitals may be the third leading cause of death in the U.S., as reported by Modern Healthcare, with up to 250,000 people dying every year due to medical mistakes such as misdiagnosis and improper administration of medicine. There are skeptics of the validity of this study, however, with some pointing out that while there are many different tools used to track deaths, there are no well-established methods of calculating medically caused mortality.
What Are Your Specific Damages?
When filing a personal injury lawsuit or wrongful death claim, you must be prepared to show actual financial and/or emotional and pain and suffering damages. Examples of financial damages include lost ability to work, lost wages during your extended recovery time, medical bills, ongoing medical treatment to remedy the original medical error, permanent disability, and more. As for other damages, examples include emotional turmoil, pain and suffering, loss of joy of life, loss of consortium if death occurred to your loved one, and more. It is not enough to claim that your physician made a mistake, such as a misdiagnosis of a broken foot for example, without showing actual damages. Did the misdiagnosis prolong your agony? Did it result in additional expenses, such as surgery when surgery would not have been necessary if it had been treated properly in the first place? Did the misdiagnosis cause a disability or loss of function?
Was the Medical Standard of Care Violated?
The last aspect of your claim must show that the medical standard of care was violated. As such, it must be proven that the medical treatment that you were given was not the standard. For example, the standard of care is as follows: a physician in Pittsburgh treating a broken foot of a 30-year-old would give the same standard treatment that a physician in Philadelphia would provide that same injury. Injuries and illnesses must be treated within a reasonable standard of medical care. As such, if it is not expected that a doctor would be able to diagnose a rare form of cancer in its early stages, they may not be liable for damages in a medical malpractice suit.
A Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help
Mistakes made by physicians and in hospitals by healthcare staff should not simply be forgiven when you suffered serious damages. Let the Philadelphia personal injury attorneys of van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin & Lindheim help you make this situation financially just.
Resources:
modernhealthcare.com/article/20160504/NEWS/160509962
cnn.com/2018/06/02/health/georgia-dancing-doctor-lawsuit/index.html