Do I Have a Case for a Surgical Error Lawsuit?

All surgeries involve a certain level of risk. And surgical errors may occur even when the surgeon performing the procedure is knowledgeable and experienced. Notwithstanding, not all surgical errors can be termed medical malpractice. Rather, to consider a surgical error medical malpractice, the surgeon must have failed to follow the proper standard of care, causing real harm. Without injury or observance of proper standard care, you won’t receive compensation for a surgical error lawsuit.

What Is a Surgical Error Lawsuit? 

A failed surgery means a preventable mistake occurred during surgery. Typically, patients sign an informed consent form admitting awareness of the dangers of the surgery. Errors that give rise to a failed surgery are those that are above what a patient knew was probable before agreeing to the procedure. 

Failed surgeries often leave victims with financial costs, inconvenience, and pain associated with the surgical error. Medical malpractice states that if death or an injury occurs due to a surgical mistake, the victim files a surgery complications lawsuit to retrieve damages. 

The Most Common Surgical Errors 

Here are some of the most common surgical errors:

Wrong Patient Surgery

Several factors can cause this kind of surgical error, including poor hospital protocol, miscommunication between surgeons, and lack of preoperative verification. This mix-up could result in the removal of healthy body organs and other issues when a patient fails to get the surgery for which they were admitted.

Leaving a Foreign Object in a Patient’s Body

Complicated procedures mostly require the surgical team to use a number of tools, including clamps, pads, sponges, and scalpels. Nurses and surgeons are responsible for keeping track of such tools; unluckily, they are often left in the patient’s body during the surgery. As a common surgical error, this results in severe infections that might require additional surgery to remove the object. 

Anesthesia Mistakes

Anesthesia errors are mostly fatal. If the patient is given too much drug, it may deprive their brain of oxygen, leading to brain damage and, at times, even death. In rare situations, a patient may have a bad reaction to anesthesia, but when a real error takes place, the patient’s family has every right to pursue compensation. 

Nerve Damage

While your surgeon is merrily repairing your current health problem, they might also be giving you another severe condition. A tiny slip of the scalpel may lead to anything from a punctured lung to an injured nerve, which may lead to lifetime pain, infection, and disability.

Wrong Site Surgery

As tough as it is to believe, wrong-site surgeries happen a number of times every year. This type of surgical error can lead to horror stories like amputation of the incorrect limb or removal of a healthy kidney while the diseased one is left in the patient’s body.

Inadequate Post-Operative Care

If you receive an infection during the surgery due to improperly sterilized equipment, this may be considered as an act of medical negligence. Failure to take note of issues as they’re occurring may be regarded as an act of negligence as well. This includes damage done to internal organs, bad allergic reactions, or failing to notice any post-operative condition.

Performing the Wrong Procedure

When you go to a hospital for a specific procedure, it’s reasonable to expect doctors to perform the right operation. In some instances, however, a medical practitioner may perform the wrong procedure. Besides undergoing the original procedure, additional care repairs any damage the first operation triggered. 

How Can I Prove That a Surgical Error Led to My Injuries? 

It’s important to work with a highly-experienced medical malpractice lawyer when establishing your surgical error lawsuit case. Your lawyer should have a team of experts who know where to look as well as identify negligence. Your legal team will establish your case with things like images of the injury, medical records, witness reports from friends and family, and also expert witness reports. 

When trying to prove medical malpractice, your legal team will need to verify a few crucial elements. This includes the existence of a doctor-patient relationship and that the medical practitioner was negligent in one way or another. They’ll also work to ascertain that the careless mistake or activity led to the injury. It’s also crucial to pinpoint how that injury contributed to real damages for compensation.

Your legal team will then compare the actions of the medical practitioner to the anticipated standard of medical care. Closely working with an expert witness is a crucial part of this. This is because an expert witness is conversant with the medical industry and can be able to speak about the expected actions, supposing they were put in a similar circumstance. 

Documents such as patient’s medical records, dosage guidance, manufacturer’s directions, knowledge of the patient’s condition or medications also demonstrate negligence.

Can Weltchek Mallahan & Weltchek Obtain a Settlement for a Surgical Error Lawsuit for Me? 

Yes! At Weltchek Mallahan & Weltchek, we understand that navigating a medical malpractice lawsuit isn’t easy. It can feel overwhelming and lengthy, and that’s why you need as by your side. Alongside walking you through the process, we build your case while you focus on recovery. We come to your aid immediately because we understand how important time is when it comes to such a case. We always take great pride in using our expertise to help you.

Learn More About a Surgical Error Lawsuit

Why wait? Get in touch with us for a free surgical error lawsuit case evaluation today. We’ll dedicate our time to ensure that you receive compensation for your suffering, pain, and loss of finances.