When a patient is scheduled for a surgery, the patient likely has a reasonable expectation that the surgery will go well, they will receive the care that they need, they will heal, and their medical condition will no longer impact their life the way that it currently does. While these are all reasonable expectations, surgical errors can and do happen, sometimes putting patients at serious risk of harm. At the law office of MichieHamlett, our attorneys can represent you in your medical malpractice claim. Call our lawyers today for a free consultation and the support you need.
Types of Surgical Errors
Surgical errors are often described as “never events,” which means they are medical errors that should never happen. Types of surgical errors include, but are not limited to:
- Anesthesia errors. Giving a patient the correct amount of anesthesia is critical; giving too much could have serious consequences, including brain damage and other complications. Additionally, properly monitoring a patient post-operation for signs of complications related to anesthesia is necessary.
- Wrong-site errors. Performing surgery on the wrong body part or wrong side of the body isn’t common, but it does happen. Wrong-site errors can have devastating consequences.
- Wrong-patient errors. Perhaps even more shocking than a wrong-site surgery is performing a surgery on the wrong patient. Patient mix-ups can happen and, when they do, the outcome can be disastrous.
- Wrong-procedure errors. Similar to wrong-patient surgeries, a doctor may perform what they believe to be the correct surgery on the wrong patient. Mixing up patients’ charts can have fatal consequences in some cases.
- Other errors. Other surgical errors might include leaving medical equipment within a patient after the surgery, failing to properly sterilize equipment leading to patient infection, failing to provide a patient with adequate post-operative information, and more.
Preventing Surgical Errors
Most surgical errors are entirely preventable. Double-checking patients’ charts, confirming the surgery with the patient immediately before operation, doing pre- and post-operative checks with the surgical team, marking the correct side of the patient prior to surgery, ensuring that all surgical equipment is sterilized and accounted for, and monitoring the patient before, during, and after surgery are all necessary. When the failure to do these things results in a surgical error and a patient incurs costs or suffers harm that they otherwise would not have, a patient may have a viable medical malpractice claim, and our lawyers are available to advocate for that patient’s rights.
Call Our Charlottesville Surgical Errors Lawyers Today
Being the victim of a surgical error is shocking, especially when the error results in a large amount of harm, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other losses. At the law office of MichieHamlett, our Charlottesville surgical errors lawyers understand what you’re going through and the distress and upset you’re experiencing. For legal assistance in navigating your rights, filing a claim, and holding the surgeon or hospital liable for the harm you’ve suffered, please call our lawyers today for a free consultation. We are ready to begin working on your case.