Surgeons and surgical staff members are required to provide patients with a standard of care. Surgeries can result in serious or fatal injuries, but that doesn’t inherently mean that medical malpractice took place. If a surgeon or another medical staff member doesn’t provide the standard of care for a patient resulting in injuries or death, the victim or the victim’s family may be able to recover compensation.
In this blog, we discuss the medical standard of care, common surgical errors, common injuries after surgical errors, and recovering compensation.
What is the Standard of Care?
Medical professionals are required to provide a level of care that the average, judicious medical professional would provide patients, but the standard of care is subjective based on community standards. For example, the standard of care in a major city may differ from the standard of care in a rural area because city medical professionals will likely have access to better medical technology.
A medical professional — including a surgeon — making a mistake doesn’t necessarily mean they broke the standard of care. They could have made an incorrect decision based on their resources and the information they had. For example, if you have an allergic reaction during surgery leading to serious injuries, whether or not it qualifies as medical malpractice will depend on whether medical professionals should have been aware of your condition.
If you had no medical history of being allergic and you didn’t inform medical professionals of your condition, the surgical team didn’t break the standard of care. On the other hand, if your medical chart listed an allergy and the surgical team caused you to have an allergic reaction, that could be considered a breach of the standard of care.
In surgical errors and medical malpractice cases, different courts and juries may have different interpretations of what qualifies as the standard of care, meaning it may be challenging to prove your claim. If you or a loved one suffered from injuries caused by surgical errors, you need a medical malpractice attorney to help you prove that medical professionals broke the standard of care.
Common Surgical Errors
Many different surgical errors can lead to serious or fatal injuries. Some common surgical mistakes include:
- Removing an incorrect organ
- Operating on an incorrect limb
- Performing unnecessary surgery
- Amputating an incorrect limb
- Leaving medical tools or other objects within a patient
- Not washing hands
- Failing to recognize or address potential complications
- Anesthesia errors
- Overmedicating
- Providing incorrect medication
- Damaging healthy organs
- Not sterilizing surgical equipment
- Failing to monitor a patient, resulting in complications or injuries
- Operating on the wrong patient
Injuries Resulting From Surgical Errors
Surgical errors and complications can lead to a patient suffering various serious or fatal injuries. Some potential injuries after surgical errors include:
- Internal bleeding
- Severed arteries
- Brain injuries and damage
- Amputations
- Chronic pain
- Nerve damage
- Punctured bowels
- Paralysis
- Post-surgical infections
- Damage to organs
- Scarring and disfigurement
Compensation for Surgical Errors
Surgical errors can result in serious and permanently debilitating injuries and death. If you suffer from an injury caused by negligent surgical staff members, you need to seek surgical errors compensation. Your injuries can result in costly medical bills, treatments, prescriptions, additional surgeries, at-home care, and physical therapy. Additionally, you may be temporarily or permanently unable to work because of your medical malpractice injuries.
You need to file a medical malpractice claim to recover the compensation you deserve. Surgical error claims can result in victims receiving many different types of damages including medical bills, lost wages, loss of future earnings, pain and suffering, and more.
If you lost a loved one due to a surgical team’s negligence, you may be able to hold the responsible parties accountable through a wrongful death claim. In Kentucky, only a personal representative of the deceased’s estate can file a wrongful death claim. This person is usually listed in the deceased’s will, but a court can appoint a family member to serve as the personal representative in the event that the will doesn’t establish one. Courts usually appoint spouses, adult children, or parents.
When filing a wrongful death claim against negligent medical professionals, you may be able to recover compensation for medical bills, funeral and burial costs, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, loss of a parent, and more.
Call a Central Kentucky Medical Malpractice Attorney
Although surgical errors are common in the United States, it’s often challenging to prove that medical professionals were negligent. If you or a loved one suffered from an injury caused by a surgical team, you need medical malpractice legal support. You’re not required to hire a lawyer to file a personal injury or wrongful death claim, but enlisting the expertise of an experienced personal injury lawyer will significantly increase your chances of recovering the damages you deserve.
For seasoned medical malpractice lawyers in Central Kentucky, contact McCoy & Sparks Attorneys at Law. We’ll work to help you recover the damages you deserve and hold the negligent medical professionals accountable. Call us today at 844-459-9467, or schedule a free case consultation here.