Ohio patients suffer many types of medical malpractice each year. The mistakes committed by doctors and medical staff are preventable if only medical professionals would maintain the accepted standard of medical care when caring for their patients.

Among the most shocking medical mistakes that are committed by doctors and other medical professionals are:

• Operating on the wrong body part
• Treating the wrong patient
• Miscounting equipment left inside a patient after surgery
• Failing to treat patients in a timely manner while they wait in the ER waiting room
• Failing to properly wash their hands which can result in the spreading of deadly infections
• Performing services for which the doctor is not qualified.

These common medical mistakes are shocking because they simply should never happen. Instead, all of these medical mistakes are ones that can be avoided if doctors and medical staff are willing to take the time to do their jobs correctly.

Patients should always ask questions and demand that those who are supposed to care for them are paying attention and not making mistakes. Regardless of how many questions are asked, when a medical mistake is made, the results can be very serious.

Many times injuries or illnesses are amplified as a result of receiving negligent medical care, and sometimes patients have even suffered a wrongful death due to medical malpractice. If a mistake is made and personal injuries are suffered, then the patient may have a legal claim for medical malpractice for the mistakes committed.

Source: CNN.com, "10 shocking medical mistakes," John Bonifield and Elizabeth Cohen, June 12, 2012