Not many people have the knowledge that surgical errors are very common – Hundreds if not thousands of surgical errors happen every year which many of them result in permanent damage to the patient’s body, anything from organ damage, brain damage, heart problems and even sometimes death. Although in a lot of cases surgical errors occur before or during the surgery, errors can also occur after surgery in the post-operative stage which can include failing to diagnose a complication or a problem that happened in the surgery. In many cases the surgeon will not admit that an error occurred and that the patient will need a re-operation. If you have been involved in a post-operative surgical error, they can lead to infection, sepsis, and other life threatening occurrences.
Types of Surgical Errors
- Cutting the wrong area and failing to correct the error
- Leaving surgical instruments inside the body after surgery
- Performing an unneeded surgery
- Performing surgery on the wrong patient
Now actually proving that a surgical error occurred is a very difficult task because the medical records need to be carefully examined in order to determine if the doctor or nurse bent medical standards which caused the injury to occur – The doctor or nurse will have to be consulted in order to help establish the negligence. Another reason for it to be difficult to prove you had been involved in a surgical error is that the witnesses to the error are medical staff that often are unwilling to admit or testify to the error that occurred. If this is the case and you are able to prove the surgical error, the negligent parties will be held accountable for their actions and you will be able to fight your case for compensation.