Baltimore Dermatology Malpractice Attorney

Taking care of your skin is incredibly important. Many people turn to dermatologists for help with acne, possible skin cancer, or other worrisome blemishes. Receiving proper care, medication, and guidance on how to properly care for your skin can be vital in preventing scarring, harmful skin conditions, and cancer.

Dermatologists who fail to properly treat their patients can often be sued for medical malpractice. This can help injured patients get compensation for additional medical care needs and other effects, like pain and suffering, from the negligent care. For a free consultation on your case and help understanding whether you were the victim of dermatology malpractice, call the Baltimore dermatology malpractice attorneys at Rice, Murtha & Psoras today at (410) 694-7291.

Examples of Medical Malpractice by a Dermatologist

Dermatologists primarily care for the skin, but many issues affecting the skin can spread to other areas of the body or require treatment with medication that can affect other areas of the body. For instance, untreated skin cancer can spread and lead to cancer in other parts of the body. Additionally, many drugs used to treat serious acne and other skin conditions could cause harm to other areas of the body, loss of pregnancy, and other serious side effects that these doctors need to monitor. While some instances of medical malpractice deal with isolated injuries and effects on the skin, other cases of malpractice extend to the full body and cause more widespread injury.

Many dermatology malpractice cases deal with misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose. Sometimes doctors will assure patients that a blemish or a mole is nothing more than that – and sometimes they are wrong. If that blemish turns out to be cancer and no biopsy or other diligence was used to investigate the blemish further, the doctor might be responsible for that blemish getting worse or spreading. Some blemishes become more difficult to remove as they grow, and the patient could require additional medical treatment or medication to deal with the effects of skin cancer or another growth.

Misdiagnosis can also occur when biopsies are analyzed, with doctors sometimes reporting the incorrect results. If the patient is wrongly told that they do not have cancer, their skin cancer can be left to spread unchecked, requiring more intensive treatment and missed work to treat the cancer later. If the patient is wrongly told that they do have cancer when they do not, they may face unnecessary expenses treating the carcinoma or melanoma, expending unnecessary time, stress and worry only to find out later that it was not actually cancerous.

Some dermatology malpractice cases involve negligent care or treatment that results in injury. Many treatments, including biopsies, removals, and other surgeries, are performed in the doctor’s office rather than in a full hospital setting. If the doctor or their medical staff fail to properly sanitize tools or the environment, the patient could suffer an infection. the doctor might also run into complications where the patient has an allergic reaction or requires emergency medical treatment after being given drugs that cause a bad reaction. If the patient is not in a hospital, they may need to be transported and could suffer additional harm from the delay in treatment.

Other errors while performing procedures could stem from a doctor’s mistakes or inattention. If a doctor removes a mark or skin blemish surgically, errors could produce unnecessary or excessive scarring that could have been reasonably prevented.

Suing for Dermatological Malpractice in Baltimore

When a doctor’s negligent care causes you injuries that should have been reasonably avoided, you may be entitled to file a medical malpractice lawsuit to seek compensation for the injuries and additional expenses you faced. To get that compensation, you must show that your doctor’s errors or mistakes were more than just bad outcomes. To prove this, your lawyer will usually provide a medical expert who can testify about what the doctor should have done differently and what they failed to do to provide you with reasonable care.

Proving a mistake can be as simple as claiming that a reasonable dermatologist should have biopsied a mark that was worrying a patient. Other more complex cases could involve difficult fact patterns that your expert will need to help explain in court.

Damages for Dermatology Malpractice Lawsuits

If you were injured by a dermatologist’s malpractice, you may be entitled to claim any damages stemming from their mistakes. With many dermatological issues, failing to properly diagnose and treat the ailment can mean the patient will face additional pain and suffering, perhaps involving visible scars and skin conditions that could lead to additional mental anguish. If a medical issue gets bad enough, the patient may need to miss work and seek additional medical care. Typically, any of the additional medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering stemming from the malpractice can be claimed in a lawsuit.

Call Our Baltimore Dermatology Injury and Malpractice Lawyers for a Free Consultation

If your dermatologist failed to properly diagnose a skin condition or made other mistakes in treating your dermatological condition, contact our Baltimore dermatology malpractice attorneys. Our lawyers represent victims of medical malpractice in any area of care, including dermatology malpractice. For a free legal consultation and more information about how your claim can progress and what your case might be worth, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras today at (410) 694-7291.