What Is a Surgical Error?
Everyone makes mistakes. Unfortunately, some of those mistakes can have very negative consequences for other people. For instance, consider the case of surgical errors. Every surgery has some element of risk. However, the United States sees thousands and thousands of preventable mistakes annually, which often result in affected individuals hiring a personal injury attorney to seek redress. Surgical errors are the second most common reason for medical malpractice claims.
Here are some of the most common surgical errors that result in affected individuals hiring a personal injury attorney:
Wrong Amount of Anesthetics
Getting anesthesia right is critical for surgeries. Too many anesthetics can deprive the patient of oxygen, thus resulting in brain damage or even death. In contrast, not enough anesthetics can cause the patient to wake up in the middle of surgery, a nightmarish experience.
Surgery on the Wrong Patient
A lot of surgical errors involve surgeons performing surgery on the wrong patient. Sometimes, this happens because of miscommunication. Other times, this happens because of a lack of verification before the procedure. Whatever the case, this can have disastrous results for the patient.
Surgery on the Wrong Side of the Body
On a related note, many other surgical errors involve surgeons performing surgery on the wrong side of the patient’s body, which happens for many reasons. One example of such occurrences would be someone who has their right kidney taken out when their left kidney has a problem.
Foreign Objects Left in the Body
There are a disturbing number of cases in which surgeons left foreign objects such as gauze, pads, and clamps in the patient’s body. This is a huge problem because their presence can cause pain, infection, and even damage. Moreover, this can be particularly annoying because this can be prevented with a simple materials checklist.
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney
Those affected by a surgical error should contact a personal injury attorney from a firm such as Robert J. DeBry & Associates sooner rather than later. Expertise and experience can matter a great deal when it comes to the outcome.