Common Operating Room Errors and Injuries
When you head into surgery, you are addressing a significant health concern, and you are putting your faith in your surgical team. In fact, we are rarely more vulnerable than when we are on the operating table. The fact is, however, that operating room errors occur and can lead to life-altering consequences. If you are the victim of such an error, do not wait to connect with our medical malpractice attorneys at Fanelli, Evans, & Patel.
Operating Room Errors
It is important to note that virtually any operating room error can lead to serious health concerns, and some are very dangerous.
Improper Use of Surgical Instruments or Imprecise Incisions
Surgical care requires precise incisions and the careful use of surgical instruments. Excessive retraction or imprecise or accidental cuts can lead to chronic pain and other serious losses, including permanent nerve or organ damage.
Inadequate Sterilization
When sterilization protocols are not carefully followed before surgery, during surgery, or post-surgery, it puts patients at serious risk of suffering dangerous infections.
Never Events
Surgical never events refer to OR errors that are so egregious that they should never happen. Prime examples include:
- Performing the wrong surgery on the patient or operating on the wrong patient
- Performing the correct surgery on the wrong side of the patient’s body, such as on their left arm or leg, rather than on their right arm or leg
- Leaving a surgical implement in the patient’s body, such as a surgical sponge, which is the most common event
Anesthesia Errors
Anesthesia must be carefully calibrated for each patient, and each patient must be closely monitored for its effects throughout the procedure. Even small discrepancies can have lasting consequences that include cardiac arrest or permanent brain damage.
Common Underlying Causes of Operating Room Errors
Surgical errors do not occur in a vacuum. Instead, they are often the result of systemic problems like the following:
- Inadequate communication between the members of the surgical team
- Negligence on the part of the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, or any member of the surgical team
- Failure to follow all safety protocols or failure on the hospital’s part to implement adequate safety protocols
- Failure on the hospital’s part to hire qualified medical professionals in the first place
- The hospital’s failure to adequately maintain the OR and the surgical equipment and implements used
Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers Are on Your Side
If an operating room error has injured you, our compassionate Pottsville medical malpractice attorneys at Fanelli, Evans & Patel have the experience and legal insight to help. The outcome of your claim is important to your recovery and future. Contact us online or call 570-622-2455 today.