Surgical Errors – NYC Medical Malpractice lawyer
New York Surgical Errors Attorney
New York surgical mistake lawyers representing clients throughout the state
Surgical errors can have devastating physical and emotional consequences for you and your family. You shouldn’t have to struggle with the consequences of your injury on your own. A negligent medical professional is to blame. They should be held fully accountable for the harm they’ve caused.
All surgeries involve some amount of risk. Consequently, it is pivotal that hospitals, surgeons and their medical staff do their jobs in accordance with generally accepted medical standards and professionally.
When medical professionals make errors, patients can suffer irreparable harm – including permanent disabilities or even death. A New York surgical negligence attorneys can help. Koenig is an attorney that has the persistence and legal understanding to make the individuals who fail to adhere to professional standards, pay.
Surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, and other professionals who make errors will be held accountable for their mistakes which cause you harm. Call Koenig, an NY surgical errors attorney today.
What constitutes a surgical error?
Surgical errors can occur even when the surgeon and the medical staff performing the procedure are knowledgeable and highly experienced. Surgical error constitutes medical malpractice only when the surgeon and the staff performing the procedure fail to follow an appropriate standard of care.
The failure must be the proximate cause of the injury. In other words, the harm you suffer must be a direct result of error within the procedure. Therefore, if the surgical team maintained the appropriate standard of care and you were injured anyway, you will not be able to recover for malpractice.
Common Surgical Errors
Some of the most common surgical errors include:
- A surgical procedure performed on the wrong patient – Confounding in patient charts, lack of communication between members of the surgical team, and incomplete verification of patient information prior to surgery may lead to the patient receiving an unnecessary surgical procedure because the patient was mistaken for another.
- Foreign objects left inside the patient – unbelievably, every year, thousands of surgical instruments and items are left inside a patient after surgery. These items may go undetected for weeks, months, sometimes years. These items remain undetected until they begin to cause serious harm to the patient, including infections, damage to internal organs or even death.
- The surgical team performed the wrong surgical procedure – in such instances, surgery other than what was intended and needed to be performed was performed. Such surgical errors can be the result of many factors, lack of communication by the surgical team, failure to review the patient’s chart, failure to use a surgical checklist, incorrect incision mark on the patient, fatigue and incompetence.
- Use of unsanitary surgical tools – when tools are not properly sterilized, they can lead to infections that may become life-threatening.
Common causes of surgical error?
A lack of competence
Perhaps the surgeon performing the procedure was performing it for the first time and simply lacked the ability to perform it successfully. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence.
Insufficient planning prior to the operation
The surgical team must have a “game plan” prior to surgery. This includes having a strategy to perform a successful procedure. Reviewing, and preparing for any complications that are likely to occur. The preparation of the surgical staff is also pivotal to ensure all the necessary equipment is ready and available when needed during the procedure.
Improper Work Process
Surgeons may mistakenly determine that certain steps during a surgery are unnecessary. Taking shortcuts can be very costly when it comes to surgery
Lack of communication
Failure to communicate properly can result in a number of critical errors. For example, a surgeon may mark the wrong site for surgery, or fail to make sure all surgical equipment is properly on hand. There can also be a miscommunication about the proper dosage of a patient’s medication. Any one of these failures can result in serious consequences.
Fatigue
This is quite common. Surgeons notoriously work long shifts. This results in fatigue. Tired people are more likely to make mistakes when compared with well-rested people.
Lack of communication
Failure to communicate properly can result in a number of critical errors. For example, a surgeon may mark the wrong site for surgery, or fail to make sure all surgical equipment is properly on hand. There can also be a miscommunication about the proper dosage of a patient’s medication. Any one of these failures can result in serious consequences.
Drugs / Alcohol
Some surgeons turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with the stress they sometimes face. Many people are shocked to think a surgeon would even consider entering the operating room under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It may be shocking, but it happens.
Negligence
Sometimes surgeons are simply not as careful as they should be. This could include failing to ensure their instruments are properly sterilized. It could also include the decision to use surgical equipment known to be defective.
Apart from medical malpractice cases, Koenig Pierre will also handle personal injury cases that involve slip and fall injuries, car accidents, truck accidents, elder abuse, dog bites, construction accidents, bicycle accidents, wrongful death and other work-related injuries.
Koenig Pierre is committed to serving every client with personalized attention, compassionate customer service, and professionalism. Before you get carried away, call him today!
The information on this website is solely for general information purposes. The content on this website should NOT be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship.
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