When you think of a doctor, you probably think of someone who helps sick people get better. Unfortunately, some doctors go beyond simply helping their patients and cross the line with unethical behavior.
Medical malpractice is when a doctor or another medical professional makes an error or commits another type of breach of conduct that causes the patient to suffer further injury or illness. When this happens, victims may be able to sue the responsible party for monetary damages to help cover the costs associated with their injuries.
If you’re thinking about talking to a surgery malpractice lawyer for malpractice, it’s essential that you understand which cases are most likely to have success and which lawsuits will fall apart before they even begin.
This article will provide information on some of the most common surgery malpractice cases.
1. Wrong Procedure Mistakes
One of the most common types of surgery malpractice is when a doctor performs the wrong procedure or surgery. In these cases, the doctor either doesn’t understand the diagnosis or misinterprets the diagnosis in some way, leading him to recommend a different procedure than necessary.
2. Wrong-site Surgical Errors
Another common type of surgery malpractice is when a doctor performs a surgery on the wrong part of the patient’s body. This mistake is often made when a doctor fails to mark the correct site before surgery.
Let’s say a woman visits the doctor because she has kidney stones. The doctor may use a nephrostomy to open a path for the kidney stones to leave the body. If the doctor fails to mark where the incision needs to be made, and the doctor makes the incision in the wrong place, it’s a wrong-site surgical error.
3. Medication Errors
Medication errors occur when a doctor prescribes the wrong medication for a patient or fails to warn the patient about potential side effects.
For example, a patient visits the doctor for severe stomach pain. The doctor may prescribe a medication for the pain that causes constipation. If the patient is unaware that the medication will cause constipation and continues to take it even though he experiences no relief from the stomach pain, the doctor has committed a medication error.
4. Lack of Informed Consent for Surgery
Sometimes, a doctor may fail to properly inform a patient about the risks associated with surgery. This can be difficult to prove because it usually requires the patient to prove that he didn’t know about the risks before the surgery, but it can be done.
5. Mistakes with Anaesthesia
Sometimes, a doctor may fail to administer anesthesia properly during surgery. This is a common type of surgery malpractice and is often referred to as a “failure to protect.”
If a patient visits the doctor for scheduled surgery and the doctor improperly administers the anesthesia or administers a type of anesthesia that’s inappropriate for the surgery, and the patient experiences pain during the surgery due to the doctor’s failure to protect her from pain, he’s committed a mistake with anesthesia.
6. Foreign Objects Left Inside the Body
Sometimes, a doctor may forget to remove a tool or other foreign object from a patient’s body. This is commonly referred to as “failure to remove.” In this case you need a surgery malpractice lawyer who can help you get your benefits back and be adequately compensated.
For example, let’s say a patient has some bleeding near her navel. The doctor uses a small tool to stop the bleeding but fails to remove the tool once the bleeding has stopped. In this case, the doctor left a tool inside the woman’s body, which constitutes a failure to remove.
A Surgery Malpractice Lawyer Can Help
A doctor failing to perform a procedure correctly can lead to serious injuries and infections that can take a long time to heal. Because these types of cases are often complex, it’s important that you hire a surgery malpractice lawyer who understands the medical issues involved so that you can receive the compensation you deserve.
