If You Were Injured During Surgery, You May Have a Surgical Medical Malpractice Claim
There are many types of medical malpractice, such as birth injuries, failure to diagnose, treat, prescription errors, surgical medical malpractice, and many others. These types all occur far too often, with surgical medical malpractice being very prevalent. Surgical medical malpractice is severe and often causes serious personal injuries, prolonged recovery times, and even additional procedures due to the surgical error that occurred.
Victims and their families may be entitled to compensation for their injuries if it is found that surgical medical malpractice has occurred and caused damages. Compensation for these injuries may include pain and suffering, medical bills, lost wages, future lost earnings, rehabilitation coverage, prescription drug coverage, assistive device coverage, and other expenses resulting from surgical medical malpractice. Suppose wrongful death occurs as a result of a surgical error. In that case, the victim’s family may be eligible for compensation for certain damages such as burial and funeral expenses, loss of income, and any other wrongful death damages that are appropriate given the situation’s circumstances.
If you or a loved one suffered any injuries due to surgical medical malpractice, or if a loved one was wrongfully killed due to the mistakes of a surgeon, assistant surgeon, or another healthcare provider, you may be entitled to compensation for medical malpractice. Contact one of our experienced surgical medical malpractice lawyers here, Medical Malpractice Universe, to learn your rights.
Categories of Surgical Errors
There are two categories of errors when it comes to surgical errors. These include errors of omission, which refers to failure to take appropriate action or forgetting to do something. This consists of failing to remove bleeding pads or other surgical sponges that help absorb bleeding and control the surgical field.
The second category of surgical errors is errors of commission. This refers to taking the wrong action that results in injuries. That could be making an incision at the wrong location, a dangerous spot to cut, or operating entirely on the wrong body part (i.e., left foot instead of the right foot).
Types of Surgical Errors
There are many different surgical errors, with some occurring more frequently than others. Most surgical mistakes are entirely avoidable if the surgeon or other healthcare providers exercise proper caution and provide care in line with the standard of care. Whatever the reason, patients should always be provided adequate care and treatment. Some of the most common types of surgical medical malpractice include the following:
Foreign Objects Left Inside a Patient’s Body
The surgical team must follow specific protocols and procedures to prevent this type of error from happening. The surgical team must count the tools and other objects used for the surgery before starting and before closing the patient at the completion of the procedure. Failure to follow these protocols can result in a foreign object being left inside a patient’s body, which can cause pain, infection, sepsis, internal organ damage, or even bleeding. Foreign objects may include sponges, towels, pads, devices, or other tools.
Wrong Patient/Wrong Surgery
This type of error is due to pure recklessness. Wrong patient or wrong surgery should never happen. The entire surgical team must perform the universal protocol, which involves taking a time out before starting the procedure to ensure that the right patient is being operated on and the correct surgery will be performed. Wrong patient or wrong surgery can have disastrous consequences, with devastating results. Patients may suffer unnecessary procedures and additional surgeries to perform the correct procedure that should’ve been done initially; they might end up getting a disability such as single or double amputation, which in turn leads them to be unable to live their lives normally again afterward – all because of just one error during medical practice.
Anesthesia Errors
Generally speaking, all surgeries require some form of anesthesia. Types of anesthesia include local anesthesia, regional anesthesia, IV/monitored sedation, and general anesthesia. Anesthesia errors can consist of administering a kind of anesthesia that a patient is allergic to, administering too much anesthesia, not enough anesthesia, or administering anesthesia improperly. Anesthesia errors can lead to respiratory depression, respiratory or cardiac arrest, neuropathy, brain damage, epidural hematoma, or burn injuries.
Surgeon’s Error
Surgeries need to be performed carefully and per protocol. If a surgeon is not careful, they may cause an injury to an internal organ, paralysis, hemorrhage, nerve damage, intestinal perforation, or many other injuries, including wrongful death.
Failure to Identify and Treat a Complication that Occurs During Surgery
Sometimes, complications happen. Surgeries can be quite complex, and some surgeries involve many anticipated risks. While these complications may not be due to surgical medical malpractice, failure to identify that a complication that occurred that could have been addressed leads to injury is considered surgical medical malpractice. An example of this is internal bleeding. If a complicated surgery occurs in which the risk for internal bleeding is high, it occurs but is not identified, leading to massive internal bleeding or even death. This would be considered surgical medical malpractice.
Infection
While infection after surgery is not always due to surgical medical malpractice, it can be. Failure to use sterile techniques or educate the patient regarding proper wound care can lead to postoperative infection. Surgical medical malpractice leading to postoperative infection can be challenging (but not impossible) to prove, as infections can happen when medical malpractice did not occur.
Have You Suffered Injuries After a Surgical Mistake? Our Lawyers Can Help You
Surgery is a significant event in a person’s life. Most people have anxiety and may even dread going into surgery for days, weeks, or months before it. While the overwhelming majority of surgeries go without an issue, far too many botched surgeries result in serious personal injuries or the wrongful death of innocent people. If you or a loved one suffered from surgical medical malpractice, or if a loved one was wrongfully killed due to surgical mistakes, contact one of our experienced surgical medical malpractice lawyers here, Medical Malpractice Universe.