Surgical Accident Lawsuits & Lawyers
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Surgical Accident Lawsuits
There are a variety of different factors that can go wrong during a surgical procedure that can negatively affect a patient. Due to the large of number of people associated with even minor surgery it comes as no surprise that over 18,000 people every year must endure the complications of some form of surgical accident.
Common types of surgical accidents include:
- Operating on the wrong area of the body
- Too much or too little anesthesia
- Leaving surgical implement inside the body
- Incorrect procedure
- Unnecessary Surgery
- Surgical error
Many times a surgical accident goes unnoticed by the patient until it is too late, but sometimes unscrupulous surgeons attempt to hide their mistake or disassociate themselves from any responsibility for their actions (or inaction).
Surgical errors are one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States today. Errors can involve accidentally cutting the wrong tissue during the procedure, postoperative infection, not taking into account previous medical history, leaving surgical implements inside the patient, or damage to surrounding organs or nerves. Errors can also occur when inexperienced or negligent surgeons fail to anticipate complications and adjust their procedures accordingly.
In some cases surgeons can also attempt to hide or minimize any mistakes they make throughout their relationship with the patient. Not only is this unethical, but it can cause the patient to suffer serious long term consequences should the error progress. It often takes skill and investigation by a team of medical professionals to fully evaluate these risks, but many times errors are not caught until it is too late.
Although it would seem difficult to believe that medical facilities in the 21 st century could not make mistakes as basic as operating on the wrong side of a patient, wrong side surgery is one of the most common type of surgical accidents with 60 and 70 cases reported each year.
Common wrong side surgery accidents include amputating the wrong limb, operating on the incorrect side of the brain, or attempting to remove an organ on the opposite side of the body. The levels of negligence it takes to authorize and proceed with a surgery on the wrong side of the body are staggering, yet this type of surgical accident happens with astonishing frequency.
Laparoscopic surgery is one of the newest and most innovative types of surgical procedure that attempts to reduce both the invasive nature of many abdominal surgeries and the prolonged recovery time that follows. By using a small camera to explore the pelvic region a surgeon can perform complicated procedures without causing the patient unnecessary suffering.
Unfortunately, a growing number of patients experience serious negative side effects of the procedure. The extremely powerful lasers and sharp blades used throughout the surgery can cause microscopic and unnoticeable damage, and people with certain predisposing factors such as obesity, cardiac disease or previous abdominal surgery may suffer serious side effects that traditional surgery would not cause.
Gastric Bypass Surgery Mistakes
Gastric bypass surgery is used to help curb the eating habits of the morbidly obese. This surgery generally involves the surgical clamping of the stomach and digestive tract to hold less food than it would normally, thereby reducing the amount a person can safely eat. Many famous people have undergone gastric bypass, often promoting the "benefits" of the procedure while ignoring the extremely dangerous dark side.
Unfortunately gastric bypass operation are rather complicated surgeries and many things can go wrong. Nearly 25% percent of people who have this procedure have some form of post operative complication. The surgery also has a 2% mortality rate, usually within a month of the surgery. Furthermore, infection is particularly dangerous after gastric bypasses, due to the nature and location of the operation.
Laser eye surgery is one of the most complicated forms of surgery and can cause significant handicap if performed without great care and skill. Out of the 1 million people who have laser eye surgery in 2005, almost 50,000 or 5% of these people will suffer a complication that results in vision problems or vision loss.
Many people are mislead by doctors who claim that laser eye surgery is "quick, painless, and virtually risk-free," when in fact the consequences of failed surgery often last a lifetime. These risks include vision loss, debilitating visual problems such as seeing halos, glare, and loss of night vision, and severe dry eye syndrome.
Neurosurgery involves some of the most complicated and technical procedures in all of medicine. It is no wonder that so many mistakes occur, and it is tragic that so many of these mistakes often have long term complications that may not arise until months or years after the surgery.
Neurosurgery does not always affect the brain. Neurosurgeons can make mistakes on the spinal cord, misdiagnose dangerous neurological tumors, sever nerves in the extremities, and can fail to exercise caution on any nervous structure in the body.
If a surgical accident is causing you undue suffering and pain you may have the right to pursue a settlement based on your situation. It is critical that you act quickly, for the law limits the amount of time you have seek compensation for your injury. Let our team of experienced legal professionals fight for you. Contact us today.
