Patients usually sense something went wrong before anyone tells them. This is the field guide: the error categories that produce most malpractice claims, and the red flags that justify getting records and a second opinion.
- Diagnostic errors — missed, wrong, or delayed diagnoses; the largest category, covered in our wrong-diagnosis explainer.
- Medication errors — wrong drug, dose, patient, or interaction; our medication errors practice covers the paper-trail cases.
- Surgical errors — wrong site, retained objects, technique failures, and anesthesia events.
- Monitoring failures — deterioration unnoticed: vitals trending, nursing responses delayed, alarms unanswered.
- Discharge and follow-up failures — sent home too soon, results never communicated, no safety-netting instructions.
Red flags worth acting on: outcomes wildly off the consent discussion, staff going vague when you ask what happened, records that contradict your memory, and complications nobody will name. Acting means: request complete records (your right), get an independent opinion, and bring both to a free malpractice evaluation — AHRQ and MedlinePlus are sound background reading, not verdicts.
Frequently Asked Questions
The hospital offered a meeting to ‘discuss what happened.’ Should I go?
You can listen — but sign nothing, and know these meetings serve the facility’s process too. Get your records independently regardless of what’s said in the room.
How do I know if it’s malpractice rather than a bad outcome?
You usually can’t without records review — medicine has real risks done right, and malpractice means care below the professional standard caused the harm. The free evaluation answers honestly in both directions; that screening is the point.
What’s a certificate of merit?
Pennsylvania requires a licensed professional’s statement that the care fell below standards before a malpractice case proceeds — a screening rule that makes expert review the first step, not an afterthought.
Concerned about the care you or a family member received? Call (215) 464-4600 or contact us online — free, confidential, records-first evaluations.