Baltimore Surgical Error Lawyers: What Are the Most Common Surgical Errors?
November 16, 2014No matter how minor, all surgical procedures leave room for error on the part of the surgeon or other hospital staff members. A surgical error, if committed by a physician who performed negligently, may qualify for a medical malpractice suit. While many types of errors can be categorized as medical malpractice, the most common mistakes include the following:
- Foreign object left in the body. Sometimes surgeons accidentally leave gauze, pads, clamps and even scalpels inside patients after operations. While most hospitals have implemented materials checklists to prevent this from happening, the error still occurs surprisingly often.
- Surgery on the wrong patient or on the wrong side. Failing to conduct preoperative verification, staff miscommunication and poor documentation can all lead to devastating mix-ups in the operating room. Such errors can result in the wrong patient undergoing an operation or the correct patient receiving surgery on the wrong side of the body.
- Anesthesia error. For anesthesia to be safe and effective, it must be carefully administered and monitored. If too much or too little anesthesia is given, it can have serious consequences, including oxygen deprivation, brain damage and death.
- Nerve damage. One wrong move while operating can result in damaged nerves or punctured organs. These injuries tend to result in long-lasting or permanent pain, infection, and even disability. Surgeons need to be extremely careful to avoid these issues when operating on patients.
If you or a loved one has suffered because of a surgical error caused by doctor negligence, speak with the experienced Maryland surgical error lawyers at LeViness, Tolzman & Hamilton, P.A. right away.
