Every year in the U.S., thousands of patients undergo surgery for a variety of complications. While many of these surgeries are successful, other patients fall victim to dangerous and costly surgical errors.
Going in for a surgery only to have your surgeon make a dangerous mistake can be traumatizing. If you’ve been the victim of a surgical mistake, our surgical errors lawyers can help you present your case for compensation.
Types of Surgical Errors
There are many types of surgical errors that surgeons can make during surgery, some of which are more dangerous and deadly than others. The following are some examples of surgical errors.
- An anesthesia error caused by the improper amount of anesthesia administered.
- Wrong-site surgical errors, where surgery is performed on the wrong part of the body.
- Operating on the wrong patient.
- Leaving a surgical tool or piece of equipment within the patient.
- Making an incision at the improper location.
- Injuring a nerve during surgery and causing nerve damage.
- Improper sterilization of equipment or site.
The list above is by no means exhaustive. Surgical errors can also include mistakes such as failing to properly observe the patient after surgery, or even performing a surgery that wasn’t necessary. When a surgical error occurs, the repercussions can be disastrous and patients should review their cases with surgical errors lawyers in New York.
Causes of Surgical Errors
Many surgical errors are avoidable. Surgical errors may be the result of a number of factors.
- Incompetence
- Improper sanitization procedures
- Surgeon fatigue
- Poor communication amongst healthcare professionals
- Preforming a surgery while under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Not properly following surgical procedures
In some cases, the error may be related to poor planning. This could include the following.
- Inadequate assessment of the patient and his or her condition
- Miscommunication between the surgical team and patient
- Failure to clearly mark the surgical site
- Noncompliance with procedures
Who’s liable for a surgical error?
While some may argue that human error is inevitable, surgeons and healthcare professionals have a legal and moral duty to provide healthcare to patients that does not cause them harm. If a surgeon made a preventable surgical error, which occurred only as a result of the irresponsibility of the surgeon, doctors, or hospital staff, then you may be able to recover damages for your injury.
In order to prove the liability of the surgeon or hospital where your surgical error occurred, you will have to prove that your injury would not have occurred but for the surgical error, and that the surgical error was a clear violation of the standard of care.
This can be more straightforward in some cases like leaving a foreign object in the patient’s body, operating on the wrong body part, or operating on the wrong patient. These are dubbed surgical ‘never events’ because they should never happen.
Work with our surgical errors attorneys in New York to secure medical expert testimony and present other evidence to help establish liability.
Seek Legal Help from Our Attorneys
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a surgical error, then you need a personal injury attorney immediately. An attorney can guide you through your rights as a surgical error victim, and can provide you with more information about medical malpractice law and how you can prove negligence occurred.
At Gacovino, Lake & Associates P.C., we are ready to take on your case today. To get started, call us now at 800-550-0000 or use our contact form.
