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Pittsburgh Medical Malpractice Law Blog

Statutes of Limitation – Minors Tolling Statute

With few exceptions in Pennsylvania, adults must file suits within two years of an accident. But where a child is the victim, the law extends the time for filing until the age of 18. The law provides an opportunity to the children of Pennsylvania a two year period from their age of adulthood, eighteen, to pursue legal wrongs. Nevertheless, it is still important for parents to contact counsel early so that a child’s rights may be best preserved. 

The failure to diagnose periodontal disease is serious

Going to the dentist is something that most Pittsburgh residents do twice a year. Dentists provide a service to keep teeth in good shape and to help treat cavities and diagnosing gum disease when it’s still in its early stages. When a dentist fails to diagnose periodontal disease early in a patient the patient can wind up with more serious dental issues and a worsened condition.

Radiation dosage error injures patients

Most Pittsburgh residents will undergo cancer treatment that includes radiation or will have family member go through the process. Cancer is a scary diagnosis and treatment is often specialized for each patient and their unique situation. Radiation is often used as part of the treatment plan but medication errors can cause serious issues for cancer patients.

Blood clots can be misdiagnosed

When a Pittsburgh resident goes to the doctor or to the ER with a medical condition they expect that they will receive a correct diagnosis. No one expects that their doctor will give them a wrong diagnosis or will suffer from failure to diagnose a serious condition. But, for thousands of patients this has become reality. One condition that is often misdiagnosed are blood clots.

A breast biopsy is often misdiagnosed

Many women in the Pittsburgh area will undergo a breast biopsy at some point. In the U.S. over 1.5 million women have them each year. A breast biopsy is performed after a woman finds a lump on her breast or if there is an abnormality found in a mammogram. When one of these things happen, a doctor removes a small amount of tissue, which is then tested.

Lack of training can lead to robotic surgical errors

Many Pittsburgh residents will have a surgical procedure performed on them during their lifetime. Surgeries are necessary for many people and most go as planned. In recent years, robotic surgery has become popular with many U.S. hospitals offering the service to its patients. Robotic surgeries are popular because they are typically minimally invasive. But unexpected surgical accidents do arise and some of them can be attributed to the surgeons not receiving proper training.

Psychiatric patients also at risk for medical malpractice

Mental health is an important piece of a person’s overall health. Thousands of Pittsburgh residents take some sort of psychiatric medicine-for depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder and a host of other conditions. These medications and the care that medical providers provide are critical in maintaining a person’s mental health. But when medical providers fail to diagnose a patient with mental illness, prescribes the wrong medication or engages in other negligent behavior, a medical provider can be held liable.