The Role of Medical Records Errors in Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Medical record mistakes are important for healthcare aligned with law, especially for lawsuit concerning wrongful deaths. Attorneys need to get the record to sustain a claim for negligence, causation, and damages. Every record, no matter how small, needs to be accurate, or there can be serious repercussions, such as death and treatment delays. Attorneys need to know about medical negligence documentation and how wrongful death claims are impacted to strengthen their case.

Understanding Medical Records Errors

Medical record errors are discrepancies or mistakes that change the quality of healthcare delivered to a patient. Problems such as medical EHR errors, documentation errors, and even electronic medical records errors have surfaced as a result of the widespread use of electronic Healthcare Records. 

Some of the medical record documentation errors are:

• Incorrectly filled patient identifiers
• Absence of thorough medical background
• Misplaced lab reports
• Wrong correction of medication dosages (EMR and medication errors).

These errors have the potential to harm the patient, and that lawyers sorely need in order to prove negligence

Impact of Medical Records Errors on Patient Care

Medical documentation errors leading to poor patient outcomes include such as:

• Patients may suffer mistreatment as a result of medical chart errors.
• Adverse reactions to drugs may be a result of documentation errors such as failing to report allergies.
• Missed docs can lead to problems and critical delays needing resolution.

When such mistakes lead to death, lawyers for the family must connect the medical records mistakes with the death.

The Role of Medical Records in Wrongful Death Lawsuits

As with a lot of legal cases, the medical records in question are some of the first pieces of evidence to be analyzed. Lawyers look to:

• Analyze the med docs to see where any rudimentary mistakes have been made.
• Look to see if the records and other medical records were in the wrong analysis of treatment.
• Determine if the providers in question made attempts to fix the medical records.
• It is after these checks that the records will be cleared of reasonability. 

However, if the records have been and are left with edits that are unexplainable, are missing from the records, or are unproven and pointless, then liability can be placed on the documents. Medical records which have been altered after the patient's death, are under the highest scrutiny.

Common Documentation Failures Leading to Litigation

The records in question that can trigger the legal case of wrongful death can be some of the following:

• Absence of records with important information, results of tests, or notes from the doctor.
• Entries that are impossible to read or are uncertain, mostly on handwritten notes, but are also on electronic notes.
• Changes that are made that are not justified such as the list of medications.
• The aim of spreadsheets that are meant to cut the mistakes in records as part administrative are not always successful.

These types of record changes can be pivotal when it comes to proving disregard in the case of legal claims for avoidable death.

Legal Consequences of Altered or Inaccurate Medical Records

Medical records mistakes are quite powerful. Courts have a prejudice against changes made to a record and deliberate changes can be seen as fraudulent activity. 

Some of the major are:

• Issues of admissibility: Sketchy records hurt the defense.
• The burden of increased liability: Medical record deficiency gnawers are set to equal more damages.
• Effects of record on opinion of an expert: Glaring discrepancies in the record damages the opinion and argument of the expert.

The burden of proof becomes quite cumbersome for the defense if the physician's disposition of the case is held. In the end, is the physician's proof of the case decided by the glaring inconsistencies in the record, or the technologically mastered proof.

Reducing Liability Through Proper Documentation Practices

Having improved electronic records systems does not mean a record keeping system that eliminates the prospects of mistakes. Reducing the chances of blunders comes from the following:

• Medical providers need to prioritize the management of records.
• The Compliance Error Rate is a major target of the medical community that strives to achieve positive change. 

The phrase "caused by the failure of the healthcare provider to take these steps, which does not be that the steps are easy to take, reinforces the principle that even if the steps are easy to take, failure to do so does not change that positive change, makes the legal complaint a powerful argument for the sales." which is quite powerful supporting an argument for a positive outcome.

Conclusion

Medical Records Errors are more than simple typing errors. These errors can impact life threatening surgeries. Mistakes in records of medical documents such as errors in EHRs, medical documents, and EMRs need to be analyzed in detail by lawyers working on wrongful death claims. Justice can only be served to the families if these record discrepancies and adverse effects to the patient are proven. The medical care providers need to be held accountable.