There is no greater vulnerability than when we put ourselves in the hands of a surgical team, knowing we will be unconscious and depending on our surgeon and anesthesiologist to perform at their best and treat our lives as valuably as we do. Unfortunately, despite strict safety protocols and extensive training, careless mistakes and tragic surgical errors in the operating room are not as uncommon as we’d like to believe, and often cause permanent harm.
If you or a close family member suffered a preventable injury due to a surgical error, contact the experienced Carrollton surgical error lawyer at GreeningLaw P.C. to learn more about your legal options for the financial compensation you deserve.
Why Choosing GreeningLaw P.C. Might Be Right for You
GreeningLaw has over 40 years of experience advocating for injury victims, including those harmed by medical malpractice during surgery. While nothing can erase the injury, turning to GreeningLaw brings your compensation claim the following advantages:
- A strategic plan to recover the maximum compensation available to you based on the unique circumstances of your case, rather than a formulaic approach that might not achieve the largest possible settlement or court award for your damages
- Our Carrollton medical malpractice attorneys take the time to get to know you and personally witness the harm caused to you and your family, allowing us to make the most compelling claim possible on your behalf
- Access to renowned medical experts and other resources to support your case
We don’t charge upfront fees to injury victims because we know that no one plans for a devastating surgical error. After your free consultation, we work at no upfront cost to you. Instead, contingency-based payment means we only get paid after first recovering compensation for you.
What are the Most Common Types of Surgical Errors In Carrollton and Elsewhere?
An alarming and controversial Johns Hopkins University study indicates that medical malpractice may be the third leading cause of death in the United States. There are many categories of medical malpractice, including misdiagnosis and medication mistakes, but surgical errors are among the most devastating. The most common categories of surgical errors include the following:
- Anesthesia errors
- Wrong-patient surgery
- Wrong-procedure surgery
- Wrong-side surgery
- Wrong-site surgery
- Surgical mishaps, such as lacerations or punctures into surrounding blood vessels, nerves, or organs
- Anesthesia awareness or intraoperative awareness
- Retained surgical items (surgical implements left inside a body cavity)
- Surgical infections caused by improper sanitation
- Nerve damage from improper patient positioning during surgery
- Unnecessary surgery due to a misdiagnosis
The medical community considers wrong-patient, wrong-site, and wrong-procedure surgeries “never events” because they should never occur, given the egregious nature of these errors and the robust protections in place through universal safety procedures. Unfortunately, a six-year study revealed 1,152 occurrences of “never events,” including 114 wrong-site surgeries. The same study revealed that an alarming 20% of 1,000 hand surgeons surveyed admitted to operating on the wrong side at least once during their careers, and 16% reported nearly operating on the wrong side.
The Devastating Impacts of Surgical Errors
Not only are many types of surgical errors considered “never events” because they should never happen when surgical teams follow proper protocols, but they also should never occur because of the devastating permanent effects on the patient, including limb loss, organ loss, permanent scarring, and disability.
Surgical errors have the following adverse impacts on the affected patient:
- Permanent physical harm, such as pain, scarring, potential disability, and often the need for a second surgery or multiple surgeries
- Diminished quality of life
- Emotional distress and anguish
- Extensive financial burdens, including increased medical costs, longer recovery periods, lost earnings, and sometimes diminished future earning ability due to disability
In the worst cases, surgical errors cause wrongful death. For instance, in the recent publicized case of a surgeon’s erroneous removal of his patient’s liver instead of the spleen.
Proving Liability for Carrollton Surgical Error Medical Malpractice Cases
Most personal injury claims center on the common understanding that we all owe a general duty to those around us that requires us to take reasonable care to avoid causing harm. During medical treatment, however, a doctor owes a higher duty of care to their patient. Proving liability in surgical-error medical malpractice cases requires evidence showing the following:
- That a doctor-patient relationship was established when the error occurred
- The surgeon or other medical provider owed a duty to treat the patient at the high level of care established as standard by the medical community
- The doctor breached this duty of care through negligence
- The breach of duty directly caused injury to the patient
- The patient suffered economic and non-economic damages from the injury
Damages in surgical error cases in Carrollton or elsewhere are often extensive. While no legal process can correct the permanent harm, a successful case to recover damages relieves the related financial hardship and provides the injury victim or their surviving family members with a sense of justice.
Recoverable Damages In a Carrollton, TX Surgical Error Case
When a physician’s mistake causes you serious or life-altering harm, you don’t have to bear the financial consequences as well as the physical and emotional ones. A successful claim recovers damages such as the following:
- Reimbursement for medical expenses
- Anticipated future medical costs related to the injury
- Lost wages
- Future income loss
- Reduced future earning ability due to disability
- Compensation for pain and suffering
- Catastrophic injury damages for permanent scarring, loss of an organ, loss of limb, disfigurement, loss of vision or hearing, disability, or chronic pain
- Compensation for emotional trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances
Patients who experience anesthesia awareness during surgery, during which they suffer excruciating pain while unable to move, often experience extreme emotional trauma and PTSD symptoms, requiring ongoing treatment.
If you lost a loved one due to a surgical error, you could recover compensation for your grievous loss through a wrongful death case.
Call or Contact GreeningLaw P.C. For Representation In Your Surgical Error Case In Carrollton
An experienced surgical error lawyer investigates all aspects of the surgical error to identify the liable party or parties. Often, administrative and staff errors in identifying the patient and the correct surgical site contribute to the error, leaving multiple parties, including the medical facility itself, liable as well as the surgeon.
A medical malpractice attorney pursues all avenues to increase the total amount recoverable in your case and carefully calculates your damages to maximize your financial recovery. Reach out to GreeningLaw P.C. today so we can begin a strategy to obtain the justice and compensation you deserve.