Surgical Errors

How to Get Started with a Surgical Malpractice Law Firm

Contact us today to schedule a FREE and confidential consultation to review your surgical malpractice claim. A few key pieces of information will help us get started. This includes basic information like your name, location, date of birth, and contact information.

Additionally, please submit a brief overview of your surgical experience and the injuries you have suffered as a result. Include vital information like dates, times, and location of the surgery. Please include the doctor’s full name and upload any supporting documentation you have regarding the claim.

Key documents to include:

• Medical reports
• Medical bills
• Insurance documentation
• Photos of the injury
• Second opinions
• Written correspondence with the doctor or hospital
• An overview of your diagnosis and prognosis

This information will help us determine the strength of your claim and estimate how much your settlement may be worth.

What Compensation Is Available for Surgical Errors?

Significant compensation may be available if you’ve suffered from a surgical mistake. Filing a surgical malpractice claim can help you receive money for the various damages you’ve experienced. In medical malpractice and personal injury cases, there are three primary types of compensation that amount to a total settlement.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are the real financial loss you experience due to a surgical error. These numbers are quantifiable and are backed by documents like insurance claims, medical bills, lost wages, and receipts.

Economic damages may include compensation for:

• Medical bills and insurance copays
• Prescription medication costs
• Medical device costs
• Costs associated with physical rehabilitation or therapy
• Transportation costs
• Home and childcare costs

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages account for the more abstract costs associated with your injury. These are non-quantifiable costs, like emotional distress and pain and suffering.

Non-economic damages may include compensation for:

• Psychological trauma
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of relationships

Punitive Damages

It’s rare for a judge to award punitive damages in a surgical mistake lawsuit, but it is possible. Punitive damages are separate from economic and non-economic damages, and judges award this type of compensation only in the more egregious cases of negligent behavior. Punitive damages are “punishment” costs meant to deter future misconduct.

Types of Surgical Errors

There are several common types of surgical errors. These mistakes affect up to 4,000 American adults annually. Many are left with permanent side effects, chronic pain, and lasting injuries. A significant portion find themselves facing severe disability as a result, unable to return to how things were before. These consequences are far-reaching and can impact every facet of your daily life. It’s your right to hold the surgeons accountable.

Here are the six most common surgical mistakes.

1) Anesthesia & Medication Errors

From administering too much or too little anesthesia during the procedure to failing to provide the proper pain medication or antibiotics post-surgery, medicinal errors are the most common type of surgical mistake. Allergic and adverse reactions to anesthesia are common, and a doctor’s failure to act to prevent complications can lead to injury or death.

2) Leaving Foreign Objects Behind

Sometimes, patients make it through surgery and appear unharmed. They may even begin to heal as expected, only to face sudden and excruciating pain not long after. Upon medical examination, doctors may find that surgical clamps, drains, wound packing, or other items were left inside the body during the procedure. The result is often infection, swelling, and even sepsis.

3) Wrong Site Surgery

Imagine you go under anesthesia expecting doctors to correct the ACL in your right knee. Except, when you wake up, your right knee is still damaged and you see a large bandage on your left leg instead. Wrong-site surgeries are, unfortunately, one of the most common surgical mistakes. This is one of the most alarming errors, as you’re left to face further surgical correction after undergoing significant trauma.

4) Wrong Procedure Surgery

You’re admitted to the hospital for a routine tonsillectomy in hopes of avoiding chronic tonsil stones and throat infections. But you wake up, and your throat feels unbothered–however, your stomach has a large surgical incision. You realize the horror that a doctor has performed the wrong procedure and instead removed your appendix. How does this happen? The answer is pure surgical negligence. This happens due to miscommunication and carelessness.

5) Wrong Patient Surgery

Hospitals sometimes mix up patient files or misplace crucial identification documents. The worst can happen when doctors are rushed, in a hurry, and not paying proper attention. You may undergo a surgery that was designated for another patient. This grave mistake happens when a hospital fails to uphold protocol.

6) Nerve Damage

Even a split-second loss of attention or a slight slip of the scalpel can result in nerve damage for surgical patients. This can cause permanent loss of feeling, range of motion, a pins and needles sensation in the body part, and more. If your profession depends on optimal physical function, this can be devastating to your career. It can also interfere with daily life activities, like typing, driving, or picking up your children. With millions of nerves in the human body, sometimes it’s challenging for doctors not to nick one.

The Consequences of Surgical Errors

The consequences of these surgical mistakes are vast. In the best-case scenario, patients can recover with minor treatments and further surgical intervention. In the worst case, they suffer permanent disability, brain damage, and sometimes, even wrongful death.

Common adverse effects of surgical errors include:

• Respiratory distress and complications
• Infection and sepsis
• Disfigurement
• Amputation
• Allergic reaction
• Internal injury
• Anxiety and depression
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Financial burden
• And more

Causes of Surgical Errors

The causes of serious surgical error are almost always negligence, recklessness, carelessness, and doctor inattention. These are all grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. Sometimes, it’s possible to identify the exact point of breakdown in protocol.

Common causes of surgical mistakes include:

• Understaffing
• Poorly trained staff
• Poor communication
• Misdiagnosis
• Doctor fatigue
• Improper surgical technique
• Failure to properly mark a surgical site
• Failure to thoroughly review patient history
• Neglecting established protocols
• Inadequate preoperative planning
• Equipment errors or malfunction
• Defective surgical devices
• And more

If you’ve suffered an injury as a result of a surgical mistake, speak with a surgical malpractice lawyer today to find out if you may be entitled to compensation.

Surgical Errors by the Numbers: Data & Statistics

Medical associations and patient advocate groups across the country work hard to gather, interpret, and distribute data regarding surgical mistakes. We know that surgical errors happen to nearly 4,000 patients annually, permanently altering the lives of many. The result is often serious physical harm and emotional distress.

Let’s review the data surrounding surgical malpractice in America*:

• 10% of preventable patient harm in healthcare is reported in surgical settings.
• A 2018 report by the Joint Commission identified 409 events of patient misidentification out of 3326 incidents.
• The Joint Commission found that wrong-site surgery was the second-most frequently reported surgical mistake from 1995 to 2005.
• In 2022, wrong-site surgery accounted for 6% of the 1,441 events reviewed by the Joint Commission.
• The services most frequently responsible for the wrong-site surgery claims are orthopedic (35.3%), neurosurgery (22.1%), and urology (8.8%).
• The most common types of procedures that involve wrong-site surgery are spine surgery (22.1%), arthroscopy (14.7%), and procedures on muscles and/or tendons (11.8%).
• Subsequent surgery is required in 67.6% of surgical error cases.
• 38% of all surgical patients in the U.S. experience at least one adverse event relating to their procedure.
• Surgical retention of foreign objects occurred 1,500 times out of 28 million reviewed surgical procedures nationwide.
• Medical errors cost the U.S. healthcare system more than $20 billion annually.

Sources:

• World Health Organization
• American College of Surgeons
• American Medical Association