There are many physical and emotional tolls to surgical errors, like chronic pain, infections, mobility limitations, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. When you go into surgery, you go with the idea that it's going to be a life-saving procedure. Patients put immense trust in their surgeons and all of the other staff on their team.
However, sometimes things don't exactly go as expected. When surgical errors occur, they result in devastating consequences. Beyond just the physical harm, there are great emotional, financial, and long-term personal costs to surgical errors for the patients and their families.
According to CNN.com, more than one in three surgical patients has complications, and many are the result of medical errors. With hundreds of thousands of surgeries being performed in the US every year, this is a very high number indeed. That's why consulting a legal expert for medical malpractice claims is so crucial in such a situation.
What Counts as a Surgical Error?
A surgical error is any preventable mistake that occurs before, during, or after a surgical procedure. Keep in mind that not all complications are errors, though. Hospital error outcomes vary widely from patient to patient, but there are some commonalities.
Every time a patient undertakes a surgery, they are putting themselves at some risk, and those risks are clearly explained before the surgery occurs to give them a chance to change their mind. The point of a surgery is that the positive outcomes are supposed to outweigh any risks that the patient might incur.
However, surgical errors result from harm or negligence where the surgeon or their team member failed to meet accepted standards of care. The dire outcome is mistakes that could potentially cost the patient their life.
Common types of surgical errors include:
- Operating on the wrong site or wrong patient
- Leaving surgical instruments inside the body
- Administering incorrect anesthesia dosages
- Failing to monitor vital signs properly
- Postoperative infections due to improper sterilization
- Delayed response to surgical complications
All of these require legal intervention of some sort. Consult Paul da Costa Sarno Law Offices if you feel you were wronged during a surgical procedure. Don't delay.
What Is the Physical and Emotional Toll of Surgical Errors?
The most immediate physical consequences of a surgical error can be devastating. Patients may experience chronic pain, organ damage, infections, or mobility limitations. Recovery often requires corrective surgeries, extended rehabilitation, and ongoing medical care.
More than that, it's the emotional toll that really makes things worse. Many individuals may struggle with anxiety or depression and might have post-traumatic stress, resulting in a deep mistrust of the medical system and an inability to visit hospitals or medical centres again.
When the outcome results in permanent disability or death, the emotional burden can last for years.
What Is the Financial Impact on Families?
Due to the surgical error, the financial consequences gather rapidly. The additional hospital visits, corrective medical procedures, medications, and rehabilitation therapies can all add up fast and put a heavy burden on the finances of the patient and their loved ones.
Families may also face costs related to home modifications, long-term care, transportation to medical appointments, and caregiving support. In wrongful death cases, surviving family members may lose a primary source of income and financial security.
The main problem is that medical insurance doesn't always cover all these costs, which results in families going into debt to pay for hospital bills. That's why legal recovery aid is important.
How Do Legal Experts Help?
Medical malpractice attorneys are crucial in helping families and patients understand their rights and options when it comes to preventable medical errors. When something like this happens to a patient, they may be floundering and confused, unable to understand what their next steps might be. This is absolutely understandable.
Hiring a good medical malpractice attorney can help them navigate the sea of confusion. They will investigate the surgical error claim and determine if there is a viable claim or not.
The steps they would take during surgery lawsuits are:
- Gather all the data and evidence surrounding the surgery and see if the surgeon or their team actually followed the accepted medical standards.
- Speak to all of the witnesses in the surgical room.
- If there's a viable claim, submit the suit in court.
- Settle out of court if that's a possibility, so the family and patient can get some compensation financially right away.
When something like this happens to a patient, they may have a difficult time taking these steps on their own. That's why having an objective outsider like a lawyer is so necessary here.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Decide if a Surgery Lawsuit Is Necessary?
Every surgery is different, as are the patients, and thus, the medical error as well. That's why it would be very hard for a patient to make a judgment here.
It's best to consult a medical malpractice lawyer who has decades of experience in matters dealing with surgical error cases of all kinds and let them determine if there's a lawsuit or not.
When Should You Hire a Lawyer After a Preventable Medical Error?
As soon as possible. When you realize a medical error has occurred, it's important to hire a lawyer as soon as possible. They need to start gathering evidence, and it's better if there's not too much of a delay there.
It's also better for you and your family if you can start getting financial compensation sooner rather than later. You don't want to start getting into too much financial debt due to this unfortunate occurrence. That would put an unnecessary burden on you.
Surgical Errors Abound in the US Medical System
There are many reasons why surgical errors are becoming more common in the US, and that's why it's important to protect yourself if you become the victim of a medical error. All you wanted was to become healthy again, and due to negligence, your life was devastated. That deserves recompense.
Hiring a medical malpractice lawyer as soon as you feel like a medical error occurred will protect you and your family from devastating consequences.
Read through more related articles on our website to stay informed.
This article was prepared by an independent contributor and helps us continue to deliver quality news and information.
