Common Surgical Errors and What to do About Them
Patients lose all autonomy once they undergo a surgical operation. This means the patient is placing complete trust in a doctor and other health care professionals to give them the surgery they need. Some surgeries are to prevent life-threatening conditions, and others result in permanent changes that cannot be reversed once completed. Surgical errors can be some of the most damaging types of medical malpractice injuries. Talk to a New York Medical Malpractice Attorney right away if this happened to you.
Types of Surgical Errors
The three main types of surgical errors are wrong-patient surgery, wrong-level surgery, and wrong-side surgery. Since these surgeries all involve conducting procedures on the wrong body area, the effects can often be permanent and a patient can be left without the treatment they sought.
Wrong-patient surgery is one of the most extreme types of errors. This error describes a surgical operation being performed on the wrong person. For patients who need immediate surgery for something like a heart problem or transplant, this can be life-threatening. The patient who receives the wrong type of surgery may undergo an operation they do not need or may undergo surgical amputation when their leg is not infected.
Wrong-level surgery or wrong-part surgery means an operation is done on the correct site, but at the wrong level or wrong part of the person. This may lead to medical complications or a pointless operation that ends up costing the patient thousands of dollars.
Wrong-side surgery happens when the surgery is done on the wrong extremity or side of the patient. For example, surgery may be conducted on the wrong kidney and someone is left with the same medical problem they had before the surgery.
Filing a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
Anytime a person suffers complications or problems from a surgical error, that person may have the right to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. The first thing you should do if you find yourself in this situation is to call a lawyer. A skilled lawyer has the training to know what evidence you will need to prove what happened and will be able to run you through what qualifies for malpractice.
Your lawyer will help you prove your relationship with the surgeon, how the standard of care was breached, and what damages you need compensation for.
New York Personal Injury Lawyer
Certain cases of medical malpractice can lead to irreversible damage and psychological harm. Consider hiring an experienced Watertown Personal Injury Attorney if you suffered the consequences of a surgical error or other forms of malpractice. You could be entitled to compensation for pain and suffering, physical injuries, and lost wages.
At Gattuso & Ciotoli we possess over 50 years of experience in four areas of legal practice. Call our law firm at (315) 314-8000 for a free consultation today. Our legal offices are located in Central New York, Syracuse, Watertown, Binghamton, Syracuse, North Syracuse, Camillus, Liverpool, Cortland, and Auburn. We will work with you to investigate the incident and prove your damages so you can recover financially.