Some medical malpractice incidents arise out of "understandable" mistakes from doctors. However, some cases are so absurd that you fail to understand how they could have happened in the first place. Here are three examples of such bizarre cases:
Wrong Organs Transplanted
A teenage girl died 15 days after surgery because her surgeons had given her transplants of the wrong blood type. The patient, whose lungs and heart were bad and needed to be replaced, was elated when she was informed that a match had been found for both organs.
The operation was successful, but her body rejected the organs soon after she was closed up. The reason? She was of blood type O, but the organs that had been put in her body were from a blood type A donor. It is surprising because this is something that should have been checked by about a dozen people before the operation was done. Were the checks not done or did all of these people make the same mistake?
Breast Implants Given to a Man – By Mistake
You know how bodybuilders are obsessed with their physical attributes, right? Well, a famous bodybuilder wanted to increase his pectoralis major muscles (chest muscles, commonly known as pec). He opted for surgery to get pec muscle implant, and got a surgeon who promised him just that.
Unfortunately, Mr. Muscles woke up from his drug-induced slumber to find a pair of breasts on his chest. They were perfect – actually C-cups – but not for the body builder. It later turned out that the "surgeon" didn't know what he was doing because he wasn't actually a surgeon; in fact, he wasn't even a doctor. Despite having no medical qualification, he had operated a plastic surgery clinic for about a year.
Brain Surgery – on the Wrong Side
Brian surgery is a complicated medical operation that has a number of inherent risks. For this reason, it is not usually headline-worthy news when complications arise after such an operation. However, this was not the case with an 86-year-old patient who died a few weeks after his surgery.
In this case, the doctor declined to fill a form to indicate which side of the brain was to be operated on. The doctor assured the nurse that his memory was good, and he would remember which side of the brain to operate on. When the actual time for surgery came, his memory failed him, and he operated on the wrong side of the brain.
While bizarre/sad happenings like these three may not happen every day, there are other lesser known medical mistakes can also be classified under medical malpractice. Every time a medical professional's care falls below the acceptable standard (and it causes you harm), it is a medical malpractice case. Of course, an attorney's evaluation, like those available from Hazelton Law Group, is necessary to determine the strength of your case.
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